Persecution is something Sikhs know well. Their faith began with the teachings of Guru Nanak, born to a peasant family in 1469 in the Punjab region of South Asia, an area that stretches from eastern Pakistan to the northwest edge of India. Nanak's message was decidedly oppositional, challenging the authority of the region's two dominant religions, Hinduism and Islam; some scholars compare Nanak's spiritual revolution to Christianity's protestant reformation, which was unfolding in Europe at the same time.
Equality — between man and woman, preacher and congregant, ruler and serf, high-born and the untouchable — was central to Nanak's theology. What has developed over the past 500 years is a monotheistic faith with a heavy emphasis on social justice. Sikh temples, or gurdwaras, make a point of feeding anyone who needs a meal.
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