US Sikhs ad to protest hate |
Sikhs in the United States are launching a million-dollar awareness campaign that seeks to stop hate-fueled attacks by explaining more about who they are and what they believe. The "We are Sikhs" campaign was years in the making, funded by Sikh leaders and their families across a dozen cities, who have been swept up in anti-Muslim sentiment since the September 11 attacks. Their beards and turbans - symbols of equality in a religion that opposes India`s caste system - make American Sikhs easy targets for the angry and uninformed. The ads, which will air on CNN, Fox News and on TV stations in Fresno, California, home to a large Sikh community, make no mention of the more than 300 hate crimes reported by Sikhs in the US since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Rather, they feature Sikh families explaining how the world`s fifth-largest religion, founded in India, aligns with American values.Internet advertising will begin immediately as well, and subsequent TV ads are planned for at least three more cities with large Sikh populations. The ads, developed in consultation with Republican and Democratic consulting firms, do not mention Republican President Donald Trump, whose candidacy hammered on illegal immigration and Islamic extremism.
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