Sikhism: What do you know about it?

This monotheistic religion, founded in 15th-centory Punjab (now North India and Pakistan), preaches equality of all mankind and peace. The faith, the world’s fifth-largest organized religion, does not have clergy. The faith has had 10 gurus who lived as leaders in the 15th-17th centuries; the Guru Granth Sahib is sacred scripture and the supreme authority. There are more than 25 million Sikhs worldwide, including roughly 700,000 in the United States, according to the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

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Sikhs carry a canopy protecting the Shri Guru Granth Sahib, the religion's sacred book, during 2004 celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the book at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. The Golden Temple is the central worship center or gurdwara for Sikhs.

Aman Sharma / AP

Indian Sikhs perform Gatka, a traditional martial art, during a religious procession near the Golden Temple in the northern Indian city of Amritsar in 2004.

Munish Sharma / Reuters

Feb. 28, 2006

Harpreet Kaur of North Potomac, Md., and her son, Harrang Singh, attend a gurdwara, or Sikh temple, in the Washington suburb.

Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

Balbir, Surinder and Joginder Singh, brother priest-musicians, chanting during the morning service at a gurdwara in Washington in February 2006.

Lois Raimondo / The Washington Post

Children are taught how to tie turbans at an evening school in 2009. Traditionally, Sikhs do not cut their hair, and men wear turbans.

Rama Lakshmi / The Washington Post

The sehra or veil is removed from groom Tej Suijlana's head during his marriage to Kivneet Kaur in a Sikh ceremony in Washington in 2009.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bride Kivneet Kaur enters the room to be married to Tej Suijlana in a Sikh ceremony in Washington in 2009.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Jan. 4, 2010

A Sikh performs a fire-breathing act during a procession at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

Jaswinder Singh, a Sikh holy man, walks beside the scripture, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib, during a procession at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 2010.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

Guransh Singh, center, participates in his Dastar Bandi, a ceremony in which a young male decides to start wearing a turban. The cceremony took place in June 2010.

Marvin Jospeh / The Washington Post

Guransh Singh, center, is congratulated by his cousin Harjot Singh and dozens of family and friends attending his Dastar Bandi, a ceremony in which a young male decides to start wearing a turban.

MARVIN JOSEPH / The WASHINGTON POST

In 2010, participants in an annual Sikh Camp in Derwood, Md., run by the Guru Harkrishan Institute of Sikh Studies.

Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

Indian Sikh pilgrims attend a ceremony at the tomb of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore on June 29, 2011. Singh, who was born in Gujranwala in 1780, was the ruler of the Pakistani Punjab province and died on June 27, 1839.

Arif Ali / AFP/Getty Images

Indian Sikh young women dressed as Nihang - a religious Sikh warrior - shows off their skill in the Sikh martial art known as gatka during a procession from the Gurdwara Ramsar to the Sri Akal Takhat at The Golden Temple in Amritsar on Sept. 1, 2010.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

An Indian Sikh boy lights candles by the Golden Temple in Amritsar on September 1, 2010, on the occasion of the 406th anniversary of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikh religion.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

Recently married Nanke Kaur of India places cow dung cakes as an offering to be blessed with children. She left the offering at the Sikh Shrine Gurdwara of Bhai Shalo, a loyal disciple of the fourth sikh Guru Ramdass and who established Amritsar.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

A member of the traditional Sikh religious warriors' Nihang Army performs on horseback on the occasion of Fateh Divas, which celebrates the return of the sixth Guru Hargobind, in November 2010.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

Young Sikhs perform a Sikh martial art, known as gatka, during a procession at the Golden Temple a day before the anniversary of the fourth Sikh Guru Ramdass, in Amritsar on Oct. 8, 2011.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

Indian Sikh devotees pay their respects as they take a holy dip in the sarover (water tank) at the Sikh Shrine Golden Temple in Amritsar on April 12, 2012, on the eve of the Baisakhi festival, an ancient harvest festival.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

Indian Sikh devotees watch a fireworks display above the Sikh shrine The Golden Temple in Amritsar on May 2,2012. The devotees are celebrating the 449th birth anniversary of the Sikhs' fifth Guru, Arjun Dev, the youngest son of the fourth Sikh Guru, Ram Das.

Narinder Nanu / AFP/Getty Images

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