The poster, titled ‘Common Sikh American Head Coverings,’ has been issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. (Photo, as it appears on www.usdoj.gov)

With hate crimes continuing against Sikhs, the U.S. Justice Department has issued a poster that seeks to explain elementary aspects about Sikhism and its followers to people in this country.

The poster, titled ‘Common Sikh American Head Coverings,’ describes Sikhism as a “religion that originated in South Asia during the 15th century” which is “distinct from both Islam and Hinduism.”

“For religious reasons, practising Sikhs do not cut their hair. Sikh men wrap and knot their hair with a turban or pagri, a practice that typically takes 10-15 minutes,” the poster says.

It carries four pictures of a Sikh man, two women and a boy, each with their headgears. Manjit Singh, vice chair and co-founder of SMART, told News India-Times that the poster was issued some three weeks ago for federal and state law enforcement agencies.

The poster also offers tips on “points to keep in mind when searching someone wearing a Sikh head covering.”

The points are “show respect, explain why you need to conduct search, offer private room for search if available, searches should be done by members of the same sex and review applicable policies and procedures for more information.”

The poster has been produced by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on the basis of images and descriptions provided by Sikh Mediawatch and Resources Task Force (SMART), an organization that tracks issues of concern to the Sikh community in the U.S.

Sikh men have attracted a great deal of unwanted attention in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks because of their turbans and attire. Many in the U.S. mistake them to be followers of Osama bin Laden. In the latest in a series of attacks on the community, a gas station owned by two Sikhs in Virginia was set on fire and vandalized last week. Racist graffiti was painted on the dumpsters outside the gas station.