Captain Sukhbir Toor, who with three other Sikhs sued the U.S. Marine Corps April 11, 2022. | Sikh Coalition A group of four Sikh men are seeking a religious exemption from the Marine Corps allowing them to keep the beards and turbans that they say are essential to the practice of their religion. Sukhbir Singh Toor, Jaskirat Singh, Aekash Singh, and Milaap Singh Chahal on April 11 filed a lawsuit against the Marine Corps set to be adjudicated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Toor is a Captain who shaved his hair and beard when he joined the Marines in 2017, after being told the Corps would not allow accommodations for him if he joined. In 2021, he requested an accommodation, which the Marines partially granted, but he still would not have been allowed to wear a beard while in “combat zones.” The other three plaintiffs are prospective, qualified recruits to the Marines who have all had their requests for religious accommodation at least partially denied. Unshorn hair — worn under a turban — and a beard are physical and external reminders to Sikhs to uphold their spiritual obligations to God, and removal of a […]
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