Turban Myths THE OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGES FOR REFRAMING A CULTURAL SYMBOL FOR POST-9/11 AMERICA

STANFORD PEACE INNOVATION LAB

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013, STANFORD CALIFORNIA

01 Introduction

Introduction

In the summer of 2013, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) commissioned the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab – a research group based at Stanford University – to conduct a study on American perception of the Sikh American community, and to develop preliminary recommendations for an advocacy and engagement program. The impetus for the project was growing concern in the Sikh American community following the 2012 Oak Creek shootings in Wisconsin. The Stanford team – in collaboration with SocialxDesign, a consumer engagement consulting firm with offices in Silicon Valley and Washington DC – conducted a multi-threaded research project which enabled the team to formulate recommendations presented in a public forum on September 9 on the Stanford campus. What follows is a summary of the scope of the project, its key findings, and recommended strategies for meeting a number of challenges facing the Sikh American community in post-9/11 America.

The project is the first known multi-threaded research of its kind, mining perception of American Sikhs and their challenges from numerous sources:

The Stanford team conducted a multi-threaded research project, which enabled the team to formulate recommendations presented in a public forum on September 9 on the Stanford campus

02 Scope

Scope

The project is the first known multi-threaded research of its kind, mining perception of American Sikhs and their challenges from numerous sources:

• Two independently managed consumer survey projects (Google Consumer Surveys and Politix) • A study of Internet conversation regarding Sikh Americans • A review of news accounts of hate crimes against Sikh Americans • Qualitative interviews with leaders in the Sikh American community and their peers in other ethnic and faith-based communities • A review of the most recent academic literature in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, and criminology as it relates to Sikh and Muslim Americans around bias, stereotypes, hate crimes, profiling, shooter bias and media portrayals (film, television and video games).

The research was conducted from July 1st through the first week of September, though one of the survey projects (conducted by Politix) continues to draw respondents.

The research was

conducted from

July 1st through

the first week of

September,

though one of the

survey projects

(conducted by

Politix) continues

to draw

respondents.

03 Methodology

Methodology

• Surveys: The Google Consumer Survey questions yielded roughly 1,500 responses each. The Politix surveys – conducted in two separate polls – yielded close to 700 and 250 responses respectively.

• Qualitative: We interviewed close to 20 leaders in the Sikh community and other ethnic and faith-based communities as well as leaders in conflict engagement and resolution.

• Literature review and online conversation: We surveyed the most recent academic literature (more than 60 articles) on Sikh and Muslim Americans, neuroscience and behavioral psychology, and news accounts of hate crimes against Sikh- and Muslim-Americans, Internet conversations on popular online community sites, and entertainment (games and film).

04 Summary Findings

Summary Findings

The top-level findings from the research are as follows:

• According to the first survey project, Americans tend to associate turbans with Osama bin Laden more so than with named Muslim and Sikh alternatives and more than with no one in particular. (Google Consumer Surveys)

• 49% of Americans believe “Sikh” is a sect of Islam (it is an independent religion). (Google Consumer Surveys)

• 70% cannot identify a Sikh man in a picture as a Sikh. (Google Consumer Surveys).

• 79% cannot identify India as the geographic origin of Sikhism. (Google Consumer Surveys).

• Anti-turban bias even among people with a greater knowledge of Sikhs. According to a second survey project – conducted by a news aggregator whose readers in a recent survey have a greater knowledge of Sikhs -- 20% of respondents say that if they encounter a stranger wearing a turban they are likely to become angry or apprehensive. (Politix Surveys).

• Bias is unconscious, charged by emotion, and reinforced by images. The literature on bias suggests that the turban

According to respondents in the qualitative research – both Sikh and non-Sikh – there are significant gaps in Sikh integration into American life relative to peer communities.

05 Summary Findings

may be a particularly challenging cultural and religious symbol in post-9/11 America.

• A sizable gap in the integration of Sikhs into the mainstream of American life: According to respondents in the qualitative research – both Sikh and non-Sikh – there are significant gaps in Sikh integration into American life relative to peer communities. The consensus is that this gap might have the effect of reinforcing bias.

• A sizable gap in institutional capacity: Respondents also agree that Sikhs are at an early stage of institutional maturity, lacking in resources and capacity for responding to crises and for creating sustainable, forward-looking programs that benefit Sikhs and other communities. Sikh leaders recognize the progress made over the past decade, but they also recognize where the Sikh community stands relative to its peers.

06 Analysis

Analysis

The turban as the object of enmity. Beyond the headlines, what was noteworthy to the team from the survey research was evidence of bias against the turban regardless of the sophistication of the sample group. As noted, according to Google Consumer Surveys – whose respondents could not identify Sikhs, their religion, or geographical origin, the turban was associated with figures who have played the role of antagonist in news narratives over the past few decades. According the Politix survey – which drew from an audience with greater knowledge of Sikhs – at least one in five people said that if were to encounter a stranger wearing a turban they are likely to become angry or apprehensive. The results of the two survey projects suggest that the turban itself has become an object of enmity, perhaps affecting the perception of its wearers whoever they happen to be.

The turban was associated with figures who have played the role of antagonist in news narratives over the past few decades.

07 Analysis

Google Consumer Survey Results This man is most likely a….

08 Analysis

09 Analysis

10 Analysis

The Person you would associate with a turban and beard is:

11 Analysis

12 Analysis

You most associate a turban and beard with someone who is…

13 Analysis

14 Analysis

Which of the following is NOT a sect of Islam?

15 Analysis

16 Analysis

DO YOU KNOW? Sikhism is originated in or near

17 Analysis

18 Analysis

Politix Survey Results

The implications of this phenomenon are manifold. But from the perspective of the research team, the immediate upshot was the opportunity to address the turban misassociation problem from the perspective of behavior design. (See recommendations). Because of its strong visual identity, and because of the strong emotion it invokes among so many Americans, the turban can be analyzed in the context of a behavioral loop. Thus the turban can be seen as a viable candidate for a campaign that is as much about behavioral change as it is about advocacy. In fact, the change the dynamics between Sikhs and non-Sikhs in America, a campaign that does not incorporate behavior design might be insufficient.

The science of bias and hate. As noted, the literature review on bias and hate crime – drawing from more than 60 journal articles and in-depth reports from neuroscience and behavioral sciences –

19 Analysis

shows an emerging consensus that bias is largely unconscious, charged by emotion, and reinforced by images.

Stanley, Phelps & Banaji (2008) state:

“Evidence that human preferences, beliefs, and behavior are influenced by sources that are outside the reach of conscious awareness, control, intention, and self- reflection is incontrovertible. Recent advances in neuoscience have enabled researchers to investigate the neural basis of these implicit attitudes, particularly attitudes involving social groups.“

Unkelbach & Denison (2008) used a “shooter bias” paradigm to assess participants aggressive tendencies toward targets wearing a turban or hijab. As predicted, this experiment demonstrated a shooter bias for targets wearing a turban or a hijab and the results were comparable regardless of gender target confirming a negative stereotype associated with Islamic appearance. The evidence further supported the prediction that the shooter bias against Muslims was the behavioral manifestation of acquired negative stereotypes towards this group. This study and others also lend weight to the hypothesis that the turban misassociation problem needs to be approached from a behavioral perspective.

20 Analysis

“The Turban Effect”

“Whether they’re holding a steel coffee mug or a gun, people are just more likely to shoot at someone who is wearing a turban,” says author Christian Unkelbach, a visiting scholar at Australia’s University of New South Wales. “Just putting on this piece of clothing changes people’s behaviour.”

Media’s Role in Bias Reinforcement

21 Analysis

A number of scholars have looked at media, specifically film, television and video games to assess how Arab and Islamic appearing characters are portrayed. Shaheen (2003) analysis shows that, out of 1000 films that have Arab & Muslim characters (from the year 1896 to 2000), 12 were “positive” depictions, 52 were “even-handed,” and the rest of the 900 or so were “negative.”

Shaheen also notes the participation of the US Government and military in action films and story lines in the late 80’s and 90’s that promote the stereotype of Arab/Muslim/Turban wearing character as terrorist. Sisler’s (2008) comprehensive review of Arab representation in video games confirms the continuation of stereotypical representations in first person shooter games such as War in the

Gulf (Empire, 1993), Delta Force (NovaLogic, 1998), Conflict:

Desert Storm (SCi Games, 2002), Full Spectrum Warrior (THQ, 2004), Kuma/War (Kuma Reality Games, 2004) and Conflict: Global

Terror (SCi Games, 2005). The stereotypes and accompanying simplistic narratives reinforce the dark turbaned ‘Other’ as the enemy. A few notable games, America’s War and Kuma/War have other purposes beyond entertainment as recruitment tools for the US military or as a means to rationalize the ‘war on terror.’

The cumulative effect of repeated cultural images and associations of Islamic appearance + terror acts as a passive reinforcement to

22 Analysis

unconscious biases Americans hold regarding Muslim and Muslim appearing Americans.

The Sikh Community Gap Analysis. As noted, the research team also conducted a series of interviews with leaders in the Sikh community and peers from other faith-based and ethnic groups. The goal for this particular workstream was to identify gaps in competency for meaningful advocacy work or behavioral interventions. The research team created a framework for evaluating these competencies – dubbed the “capabilities graph” -- and for guiding communities on how to build on them.

the capabilities graph

Intelligence

23 Analysis

Objective: The ability to respond and to detect crises before they happen. Gap: Infrastructure is in very early stages. Next step: Begin work in 2013/2014 to begin identifying data sources and partners. Both the leaders at SALDEF and respondents in the qualitative research agree on the need for a more sophisticated data platform for comprehending consumer sentiment and for detecting potential conflict before it arises.

Identity

Objective: To leverage the depth and diversity of the Sikh American community. Gap: Alignment as well as representation of different groups (e.g., women). Next step: Series of regional public forums designed to get consensus and alignment. Respondents also recognize the need to follow a best practice in the world of conflict resolution – dubbed “identity-based engagement” -- that recognizes that communities must first engage and align themselves internally. There is a great deal of diversity

24 Analysis

within the Sikh community. If more of the community were aligned and mobilized -- engagement potentially could have a greater impact.1 At the September 9 event at Stanford, leaders in the Sikh community had the opportunity to experiment with an interactive format for driving engagement and alignment. (See recommendations). This format can be used for a national series of local events that later rolls up into a national summit.

Integration

Objective: Mixing well into the “manystreams” of American public life. Gap: Sikhs stay “inside,” so they are seen as outsiders. Next step: Designing interventions that can scale.

As noted earlier, Sikhs rightly or wrongly are perceived as outsiders who not well integrated into American life. The “peacemaker initiative” outlined in the previous section is just one example of a program designed to close the integration gap. At the September 9 event at Stanford, Sikh leaders collaborated with peer from other

1 At the 9/9 event at Stanford, the research team explored the need to engage and mobilize a number of Sikh constituents -- particularly women -- who can play a bigger role in “putting a human face on the Sikh community” by demonstrating its diversity.

25 Analysis

communities to identify interventions that (a) enable Sikhs to better mix in other communities, and (b) that can scale with the aid of technologies.

Influence

Objective: Leverage the “long tail” of influence, both inside and outside the Sikh community. Gap: Biggest challenge is countering the post-9/11 narrative. Next step: Influencer mapping and convening in preparation for campaign for rebranding the turban. The research team uncovered a further gap in “integration”: the Sikh community’s relative lack of engagement with general influencers on hate crime, human rights, peacebuilding, etc. (See sample below). In addition, the community has the opportunity to think more broadly – and more granularly – about the marketplace of Sikh influence. There are influencers with great sway with older Sikhs (“inside the temple”). There are influencers with greater pull with younger Sikhs. There are influencers who might have pull with mainstream American culture where one of the number-one tasks may be to counter the effect of anti-Islamic propaganda has accidentally resulted in anti-Sikh bias. But without the infrastructure for harnessing this influence, it will be challenging to do anything at scale.

26 Analysis

Institutional capacity

Objective: A sustainable organizational infrastructure for the benefit of the entire Sikh ecosystem. Gap: infrastructure is at the very early stages of development. Next step: A contemporary variant on the Interfaith model. As reported in the top-level findings, there is also a considerable gap in capacity for advocacy work. While Sikhs appear to be evolving their capabilities in this area, it will need to go further if it hopes to change the cultural dynamic in a sustainable way. One recommendation is to develop a new type of collaboration between groups of common cause, replacing the traditional Interfaith model with a broader model that incorporates other kinds of affinity groups to work with one another.

In the meantime, if the Sikh community were to make measurable progress along each of these five areas of competency, the impact of community interventions could inspire change at a faster rate. In the end, the turban is as much of an opportunity as it is a challenge. It’s the opportunity to leverage the power that the turban has in the American mind and to alter its valence – from negative to positive – for the good of all Americans.

27 Recommendations

Recommendations

Based on its findings, the research team presented three related frameworks for co-creating an engagement plan, using its 9/9 event on the Stanford campus as a first exercise in drafting that plan:2

Design for behavior. Perhaps the most dramatic and disturbing finding from the research is the role that the turban plays in American perception of Sikhs. It’s a problem that needs to addressed on multiple fronts, but the toxic composition of bias+emotion+image that drives turban-inspired hate crime requires interventions that leverage behavior and game design. Using methods developed at the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab and other groups, the Sikh community can design tests for changing the way turbans are perceived. Three of the core principles of game design are that (1) the “core loop” – i.e., the smallest set of meaningful interactions that are repeatable and which encourage the loop to continue – can be defined, (2) that the

2 The research team invited leaders from the Sikh community to meet with peer leaders from the Jewish, LGBT, Hispanic, African American, and Interfaith communities.

The challenge for the Sikh community – and for any other community at risk of being targeted for hate crimes – is to test and develop new core loops in a way that can truly subverts the older core loop.

28 Recommendations

loop can be broken or slowed down, and (3) that a competitive model can be used to outwit opponents.

Design for “positive peace.” The challenge for the Sikh community – and for any other community at risk of being targeted for hate crimes – is to test and develop new core loops in a way that can truly subvert the older core loop. The research team presented a strawman test for the group convened at Stanford on 9/9: a focused community intervention where members of the Sikh faith actively and visibly take part in educating and mentoring city youth in the skills of “peacebuilding.” There are several reasons why an approach like this might succeed. The first is that in order for the

Core Loop of Hate Crimes

29 Recommendations

original core loop to be broken, the meaning of the visual cue – the turban – would need to be subverted. The second is that the act of a Sikh American participating in the education of peacebuilding not only subverts the meaning of the visual cue, but also presents an opportunity for Sikh Americans to educate people on one of its most durable “brand assets.” It’s an opportunity to evolve the brand of Sikhism to be more outward-facing, as well as an opportunity to transform the brand of the turban. Third, this approach is consistent with best practices in the growing field of creative conflict engagement, which seeks to reduce conflict in society not by simply responding to conflicts when they arise, but by creating the right conditions for positive and sustainable human relations between different groups.

Collective Intelligence

CollaborationCooperationCoordination

CommunicationAttention

Awareness

TruceVerbal Hostility

Physical HostilityBattleWar

Annihilation

zero HIGH

Qua

lity

of E

ngag

emen

t

Quantity of Engagement

Positive but Unstable

Peace

Sustainable Peace

POSITIVE

NEGATIVE

From Negative to Positive Peace

30 Recommendations

Design for movement.

The 9/9 event at Stanford was the Sikh American community’s first opportunity to experiment with an interactive event format that enables groups of any size to rapidly surfaces ideas, discuss them, and advance the best ideas for potential implementation. The opportunity now is to take this approach to the next level by iterating on best practices from communities that have practiced behavior design and event design to organize themselves at scale. SocialxDesign along with the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab participated in one of the nation’s largest community development projects sponsored by The White House.3 The project visited more than two dozen cities with an interactive format for surfacing, aligning, and mobilizing Latino leadership. The team later formulated a template for designing for movements, and it has been adopted by a number of community groups as a best practice for growing quickly, inclusively, and with impact. Given the challenges that the Sikh American community is facing, and given the

3 The White House The Conversation Market Mainstream With Geek-Style Unconferences, Techcrunch, August 19, 2012.

31 Recommendations

complexity of those challenges, we believe that what is required is the scale and dimensions of a movement. In the end, the future of Sikhs in America depends on the vibrancy of its community – along the five dimensions of the capabilities graph – and a road tour design to gather the community may be the best way to start.

32 Selected References

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Mahalingam, R. (2013). Misidentification, Misembodiment and the Paradox of Being a Model Minority. Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory, 8(3), 299-304.s

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Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley (2012). Gun Cultures, Majority Nationalism, And The Prominence Of Fear: Reflections On Anti-Sikh Hate Crimes. Sikh Formations, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, 2012 Mange, J., Chun, W. Y., Sharvit, K., Bélanger, J. J., (2012) Thinking about Arabs and Muslims Makes Americans Shoot Faster: Effects of Category Accessibility on Aggressive Responses in a Shooter Paradigm, European

Journal of Social Psychology.

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