Following French President Jacques Chirac’s support of legislation banning religious symbols in public, SMART recently responded to an editorial in the New York Times. SMART’s Office of Media Relations stated: “Your editorial staff conducted sound analysis about the misguided approach France is taking to achieve its goal of religious neutrality.” The letter continued to state: “In the quest to separate church and state, Mr. Chirac’s support of policies restricting religious expression is exacerbating religious bigotry in France. As a result, followers of multiple faiths find themselves having to defend their religious beliefs and practices. As you may well be aware, Sikhs are required to wear a turban as part of their code of conduct laid down by the Sikh Gurus. Sikh soldiers fought with turbans in both of the World Wars and many of them died fighting alongside their allies. To force Sikhs to remove their turbans as ‘conspicuous’ religious symbols is, as you accurately stated, “imposing the view of the state upon them.”
