MARINES MAY NOW RECRUIT SIKHS WITH BEARDS AND TURBANS: A US COURT HAS RULED

The guys filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in September after a judge in a lower court denied their motion.

A US court determined that the Marine Corps cannot bar Sikhs from entering if they are sporting beards and turbans. Three new recruits from the Sikh community can now begin basic training with the regiment, which is a significant accomplishment.

Aekash Singh, Jaskirat Singh, and Milaap Singh Chahal, the three recruits, had applied for a waiver from the Marines' requirement that they cut their beards. The Marine Corps informed the three Sikh men that they could only serve if they shaved before the basic training. The guys had contended that the beards and turbans were a sign of their dedication to their religious religion.

After a judge in a lower court rejected their motion, the men appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in September. Beards will affect "troop homogeneity" and appearance, according to the Marines, endangering national security.

They "are already experiencing and will continue to suffer grave, immediate, and ongoing injury to the exercise of their faith," the three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals ruled.

Sikhs may continue to wear their religious beards while serving their country in the US Marine Corps, according to a recent federal court decision. Three Sikh recruits who had previously been denied religious accommodations are now able to start basic training, according to their attorney Eric Baxter.

"This is a significant victory for religious freedom—the Marine Corps has long prohibited Sikh recruits sporting beards for religious purposes from enrolling in basic training. He continued, "No one should have to choose between serving God and country. Today's verdict strikes down that rule as a 'violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)'."