An Anglican school in Queensland has expelled a Sikh student for wearing a turban. The wearing of a turban is mandatory for devout Sikhs who do not cut their hair and use the turban to keep their hair in place. I work in New South Wales as a Buddhist chaplain in gaols and many Corrective Services officers are Sikhs who wear the regulation uniform but wear a turban in conformity with their religious obligations. This does not create a problem for the Department of Corrective Services.
However, I am appalled that the Sikh community is still suffering discrimination in many parts of Australia. Australia is NOT an Anglo-European society where all citizens must conform to Anglo-European norms. We are, proudly, a multicultural, multiracial and multireligious society which makes Australia an interesting and great country. We should not impose any rules which constitute a breach of the traditions of any religious or ethnic community as long as they do not break the laws of our country or cause offence to its citizens. How can the wearing of a turban cause offence to anyone irrespective of their own religious tradition? Are we going to ban the wearing of robes by Buddhist monks? Are we going to ban the wearing of white reversed collars by Christian clergy? As an Australian of Anglo ethnic background, I am proud to live in a country where many ethnic communities live in harmony and share their rich traditions. Do we want to revert to the dull Australia of the “White Australia” days? I say emphatically “NO”. Let us retain our multicultural harmonious society which is a model for the rest of the world. We must be vigilant and oppose any attempt to impose conformity on any religious or ethnic group of law abiding and peaceful Australians.
