World Sikh Council - America Region

The World Sikh Council – America Region (WSC-AR), founded in 1997, is the only representative and elected body of Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) and Sikh institutions in the US. Its current members include 28 Gurdwaras and 8 other Sikh organizations across 17 US states.

World Sikh Council – America Region works to promote Sikh interests at the national and international level focusing on issues of advocacy, education, and well-being of humankind.

In response to the French government’s recent proposal prohibiting "the wearing of signs or clothes which conspicuously display a pupil's religious affiliation" in government schools of that country, the WSC-AR led a worldwide Sikh delegation to meet with French government officials in Paris on February 2 to 4, 2004, and presented a memorandum on behalf of 25 million Sikhs worldwide. The memorandum proclaimed "It is not only sad but ironical and extremely painful that the community which fought for the freedom of France wearing their turbans [in World War I and II], now has to fight for the freedom to wear the turban in France."

The National Interfaith Committee of WSC-AR works with national interfaith and faith-based organizations to represent the Sikh perspective at the national level, and promotes interfaith dialogue within the Sikh community. The committee also serves as a clearinghouse of information about Sikh Americans and their religion.