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The paper sets the author's introductions – in particular Sikhism A Very Short Introduction (2005a) – in the context of earlier introductions to (and more substantial treatments of) Sikhism. After noting challenges intrinsic to representing faith traditions, and the particular task of the writer of introductions, my focus rests on reflexivity and the fact that context and conversation – both recent events and particular collaborations – shape agendas. Likewise, I suggest, critical attention needs to take account of the writer's disciplinary formation, as historian, linguist or, in my case, ethnographer. The eruption, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, of hostility against Professor Hew McLeod and other scholars trained in critical methods receives comment, as this affects the decisions made in designing and drafting scholarly introductions. It is also a part of Sikh history, and as such receives a place in my own Introduction. The article refers to some particularly sensitive aspects of Sikh history and to the balance of criteria in selecting visual images as well as in creating text. The 'world religions' paradigm of much religious studies and religious education comes in for scrutiny, as does the western matrix in which 'Sikhism' and other 'isms' have been named and conceptualized as discrete systems rather than unbounded traditions. A range of decisions that I made as author are revisited such, for example, as the emphasis on the Punjab and on the international spread of the Panth, and the selection of exemplars. The elusiveness of spirituality, the dearth of Sikh material available on ethical issues and the possibility of engaging as author with recent, 'postmodern' approaches are considered. Finally the writer's responsibility is outlined – a responsibility which comprises introducing diaspora Sikhs to their heritage as well as introducing the faith to outsiders. Introductions, it is argued, have a contribution to make to interfaith dialogue.

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PurposeThe increase of Islamophobia-inspired hate crimes toward Sikh Americans led the Sikh Coalition of America and the National Council for the Social Studies to request social studies educators to conduct a content analysis on the presentation of Sikhism in social studies textbooks. The Sikh Coalition hopes to use the findings of such research to encourage more appropriate inclusion about the religion in textbooks by the leading publishing companies and as a legitimate social studies subject of instruction in the state standards for all 50 states. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe incorporation of critical pedagogy, as a tool of critical multiculturalism, serves as the theoretical design of this study. Content analysis serves as the method of research for this study. The authors also employed an online survey to determine the scope of religious literacy of the pre-service teachers with regard to Sikhism before the conducting of content analysis of social studies textbooks for the presentation of Sikhism.FindingsThe current presentation of Sikhism in social studies textbooks has the potential to help fuel the Islamophobia that Sikh Americans now face. The authors found that the pre-service teachers possess little religious literacy regarding Sikhism. Furthermore, from the content analyses, the authors found that a total of 21 out of the sample of 32 textbooks (5 elementary, 11 middle grades and 16 high school) mention Sikhism. Eight textbooks include a mention of the origins of Sikhism. Nine textbooks misidentify the religion as a blending of Hinduism and Islam. Nine textbooks mention the religion in relation to the assassination of Indira Gandhi.Research limitations/implicationsThe originality of this research led the authors to find that the very limited and inaccurate information we found present in the most-used textbooks for elementary, middle grades and high school social studies made the employing of inferential statistics like correlation difficult. Also, the authors found from the literature that research addressing Islamophobia in the classroom has centered on the role of licensed teachers only. The research gives a model to how pre-service teachers may address Islamophobia in the classroom and also gain religious literacy regarding Sikhism.Practical implicationsThe rise of Islamophobia-inspired violence toward students of South Asian descent has led to the call to address this matter. The research introduces a method to how social studies education professors may help engage their pre-service teachers in proactively addressing Islamophobia. Social studies professors have a responsibility to help promote social justice through critical pedagogy that explores the religious literacy of their pre-service teachers beyond Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.Social implicationsThe Sikh Coalition, by telephone, has formally acknowledged to the authors that the textbook research has been the most extensive they have received since making their joint request with the National Council for the Social Studies. They have used the research to successfully convince the state education boards of Texas and recently Tennessee to adopt the inclusion of Sikhism in social studies content. More Americans, at a young age, need to learn about Sikh culture, so they are less likely to develop prejudicial ideas about Sikh Americans and commit violent acts of religious-based discrimination.Originality/valueThe research is extremely rare. To date, no one else in the country has conducted research on the presentation of Sikhism in textbooks to the extent that the authors have. The authors hope that the research will encourage more dialogue and further research. The authors hope that the research will help prevent further acts of religious-based violence toward followers of the world's sixth largest religion.