Sikh student sues Army, says joining ROTC would require him to violate his religion

Sikh student sues Army, says joining ROTC would require him to violate his religion
(Image credit: Doug Benc/Getty Images)

A college student sued the U.S. Army on Wednesday, saying he can't join ROTC without violating his religious beliefs, The Associated Press reports.

Nineteen-year-old Hofstra University student Iknoor Singh practices Sikhism, a religion founded in India that requires men to wear a turban, grow a beard, and leave hair uncut. To join ROTC, he'd have to remove his turban and shave his hair. United Sikhs and the American Civil Liberties United filed the federal lawsuit on Singh's behalf.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.