Letter: Hats off to photo for showing solidarity

Seeing the front-page photo of Wednesday’s newspaper accompanying the world headline “Britain raises threat level as thousands mourn victims” confused me. The turbaned gentlemen holding “I [heart] MCR” signs are Sikh.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the suicide bomber has been identified as a British citizen of Libyan descent who often wore traditional Islamic dress.

Sikhs are not Muslims; Sikhism is a completely different faith tradition than Islam. Born out of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century, this religion is not one of the Abrahamic faiths. Sikhs have been subject to Islamaphobia because many males of either religion often cover their heads and have brown skin.

Manchester Sikhs opened their temples, or Gudwaras, to victims of the terrorist attack. Hats off to the editors if this photo was selected to show the solidarity of Manchester citizens of all backgrounds following this heinous incident. While several Muslim groups have also decried the atrocity, let’s be mindful not to conflate these two distinct cultures.

This story was originally published May 27, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Letter: Hats off to photo for showing solidarity."