Turban Tying Presentation - Naureen Singh at Mile Hi Church
On September 4, 2016, Colorado Sikhs made history at Mile Hi Church, by conducting the first Sikh service within church walls, including Langar and outreach.
During this interfaith event, Ms. Naureen Singh spoke about her experiences with the Sikh turban as a young girl growing up after 9/11.
While watching her dad, a US Army officer, preparing his turban, she asked "What is the point of tying it, if you are just going to take it off again?"
In less than 2 minutes her dad told a story that captured 500 years of history. About a society that treated women as less than human, a system that lowered people, and the persecution of religious communities.
"Sikhism was born during this time. And with the territory came along a struggle for fighting against prejudice and discrimination and oppression."
"As a little girl, I left that conversation feeling blessed that I was born into a faith that demanded justice."
"In those battles of life, the turban is what serves as our shield."
"The long fight ahead for my Sikh community is one of increasing education of my faith"
"In a world that is dualistically divided. My religion versus your religion, us versus them, you versus me. We have lost our essence as human beings. Beings that love, care and grow from one another. Beings that at the end of the day are on our unique path to finding something that is greater than we can imagine."
"In 2016, many women are choosing to wear turban. If a man can wear a turban, a woman can wear one too. Hopefully, one day we will see a large number of women wearing turbans".
The speech was given a standing ovation by the 2000+ attendees representing faiths and cultures from across the Denver Metro Area.