Reddit mentions of Sikhism: An Introduction (Introductions to Religion)

Well, any book on the history of the origins of Sikhism will touch on the socio-religious conditions in Punjab that lead to Sikhism's current form. The book that I keep on my book shelf is this one which touches more on the actual practices of Sikhism as opposed to its history, but it does touch on some of those aspects. I have heard good things about this book, written by a former Sikh and self proclaimed Sikh-Atheist.


In a nutshell though:

• Nanak, the first guru, had cordial relations with Akbar, the muslim emperor. In fact, Nanak's first follower was Bhai Mardana, a muslim. Also, the holiest shrine in Sikhism, the Golden Temple, had its foundation stone laid by a Muslim, Mian Mir. His descended family who are still Muslim, have a lot of respect from the Sikhs.
  
  
• The fifth guru, on the other hand, was murdered by the Muslim emperor because Sikhism was spreading and the fifth guru wouldn't convert himself to Islam.
  
  
• This was a major turning point in Sikh history as it turned us from peaceful hippies to Sant Sipahis or "Saint Soldiers" for self defense (hence the concept of Kirpan) by the 6th guru
  
  
• By this point, we didn't have an official reason to wear turbans. The turbans happened during the second turning point, also thanks to the muslim ruler at that time
  
  
• The 9th guru was invited over by the emperor at that time (different from the guy who killed the 5th guru), told to convert, and when the 9th guru refused, the emperor commissioned a public beheading of the leader of the Sikh faith to intimidate his followers.
  
  
• After that, he mocked the sikh followers for not coming up and defending their guru, and hiding among the tides. The 10th and last guru himself was disappointed that no sikh went up when the emperor dared the sikhs to come up and get the guru's body for a proper disposal.
  
  
• The 10th guru, then, at the peak of this Sikh-Muslim tension, created the Khalsa. One aspect of the khalsa was that a Sikh should be visible from far and wear a turban, so that if muslims wanted to come kill the Sikhs, a Sikh would be brave enough to defend himself and not let go of his beliefs by pretending to be someone else. He knew this was not for everyone, so no one was forced to wear the turban, but it became a crucial component of Sikhism.
  
  
• After creating of the Khalsa, the conflict between Sikhs and Muslims definitely increased, but those didn't modify the Sikh religion anymore.. only enforced the previous aspects of it. The 10th guru was also killed by a Muslim.
  
  
• One of my favorite things that the 10th guru did was send a letter to the mughal ruler (the guy who publicly beheaded the 9th guru) schooling by saying that Islam does not justify violence in the name of God and so what he was doing is wrong. There are reports that the emperor realized this and stopped his force conversions.
  
  
  Obviously, this account is focussing on the Sikh-Muslim interactions during this time -- I havent talked about the dharmic concepts in Sikhism, but these interactions were directly responsible for the fact we carry kirpans and wear publicly visible turbans today.

I haven't read this book, but it reviews well, and I've read another by the same author https://www.amazon.com/Sikhism-Introductions-Nikky-Guninder-Kaur-Singh/dp/1848853211/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1506345505&sr=8-2&keywords=sikhism