Source: Press Trust of India

http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=133438

On July 10, 2006 Press Trust of India reported, "A constant bombardment of images of Osama bin Laden has compounded trouble for American Sikhs, who faced racial hatred in the wake of al-Qaeda attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, a Washington-based Sikh advocacy group said on Monday.

Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) chief Rajwant Singh cited a survey his group had carried out in Washington on the levels of awareness among Americans about their understanding of the faith.

'We found that nine out of 10 educated Americans identified Sikhs with Muslims,' said Singh, currently in India to garner support for an international Sikh forum.

The respondents were office managers, workers and college students, he said. 'The reason for the low level of awareness is the constant bombardment of images from Iraq and bin laden, which are very confusing for the Americans.

Added to it is the general ignorance about the religion,' he said.

He also spoke about what he called startlingly low levels of awareness about Hinduism in America. 'People there also do not know much about Hindu religion... Hindus are thought to be worshippers of cows and stones.'"