About SGO
Welcome to the website of Sikh Glaubensgemeinschaft Österreich, a charitable foundation committed to serving the Sikh community in Austria. Our mission is to promote Sikh values and traditions, while providing support and assistance to those in need. We believe in the importance of equality, compassion, and selfless service, and strive to embody these values in all that we do.
Recognition of the SGÖ
The Sikh religion was recognized as a state-registered religious denomination by the Austrian Sikh Religious Community (ÖSG) on December 23, 2020. This led to the founding of the umbrella organization of the Sikhs, the Sikh Religious Community of Austria (SGÖ).
About
Us
The ÖSG (Österreichische Sikh Glaubengemeinschaft) is the youth group that came into being in 2019, due to the trigger of the headscarf ban in primary schools and kindergartens. Through this ban, the children of the Sikh religion were directly affected because there were many misunderstandings of the interpretation of the law. The Sikhs became aware of this ambiguity and a team of 6 members was formed.
This team has set itself the task of holding discussions with various people and parties on the subject of the patka ban. The patka ban, translated into English as "ban on covering the head", affected Sikh children due to misunderstandings in the interpretation of the law. After numerous meetings and discussions, the team managed to secure an exemption for Sikhs from the headscarf ban.
During these discussions, the team opposing the patka ban was asked at every meeting whether the Sikhs were officially recognized in Austria. At that time, however, they were not recognized. In response, many young people from the Sikh community came together and founded the association "Österreichische Sikh Glaubensgemeinschaft" (ÖSG). Their aim was to unite the young generation of Sikhs in Vienna and throughout Austria. Their first important task was to achieve official recognition of the Sikh religion in Austria. To this end, an appointment was made with the Kultusamt to collect the necessary information for recognition as a religious community.
Around 1,000 affidavits were then collected and the application for recognition as a religious community was submitted in December 2019. In December 2020, a positive decision was made and the Sikh religion was officially recognized in Austria.