Exclusive | Sikh Republican Harmeet Dhillon leads prayer at RNC, thanks God for saving Trump (2024)

Prominent Sikh Republican Harmeet Dhillon took the stage Monday to close the first night of the Republican National Convention in prayer.

Despite some social-media criticism from those who opposed the non-Christian prayer, Dhillon told The Post she felt very welcome on the GOP’s big night.

In the United States, almost 300,000 people practice Sikhism, a monotheistic religion that originated in 15th-century India.

Dhillon, a religious-liberty lawyer and 2020 Trump campaign legal adviser, told the Milwaukee audience, “I come from a family of Sikh immigrants. I am honored to share with you, my fellow Republicans and guests tonight, a prayer from my faith tradition practiced by over 25 million worldwide.”

After putting on a veil, Dhillon sang the Ardas in the Punjabi language.

In English, the prayer reads, “This body and soul are yours. You are our mother and father; and we are your children. In your grace and through your benevolence, we experience peace and happiness!”

Dhillon then thanked God, whom she addressed as “Waheguru,” for the religious liberty enjoyed in America and for saving Donald Trump from an attempted assassination, saying, “We thank you, dear God, for protecting his life.”

Dhillon, who was invited to say a prayer during the 2020 convention as well, told The Post she felt very welcome among the Republican audience.

“It was silent. People bowed their heads. It was very respectful,” she said.

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“And when I left the stage, I was hugged and people took selfies with me. Not a single word of criticism inside the room.”

Dhillon was met, unfortunately, with some Twitter criticism from conservative Christians who opposed the Sikh blessing.

“ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!!” tweeted conservative Christian commentator Behizy.

“I have nothing but respect for Harmeet Dhillon but fire whoever invited her to pray to a foreign god, there is only one true God we pray to and his name is not whatever she said. His name is YAHWEH and his only begotten Son is Jesus Christ.”

Dhillon did not single out any critics or trolls but tweeted, “Blocking quite a few people,” shortly after her prayer.

Speaking to The Post, Dhillon said, “Overall, while the voices of haters can be amplified artificially online, I would say the vast majority of the response to my prayer by mainstream Republicans has been positive, and I’m grateful for that.”

Dhillon views herself as an ally of all religious people in the United States and believes Sikhs pray to the same God as Jews and Christians.

“We believe that there is one God,” she said.

“In all the years I go to RNC events and a Christian or Jewish prayer is said, I bow my head because I believe it is the same God.”

In her work as a lawyer, Dhillon has been an advocate for the religious rights of all Americans, defending Sikhs from discrimination and defending doctors and pharmacists who refuse to participate in abortions.

Dhillon said her advocacy for all citizens’ religious freedom comes directly from her Sikh faith. “It teaches giving back to your community, it teaches being humble,” she says.

“And so all of the civil rights work in my 31 years that you see described online and in probably thousands of stories — it all stems from my Sikh faith.”

Numerous conservative commentators spoke out to support Dhillon, such as Christopher Rufo, who tweeted that negative responses to her prayer were “totally misplaced.”

Given her RNC reception, he’s right.

“Do not portray me as a victim. Yes, there are definitely some negative comments online, but members of the RNC, delegates at the RNC in the Trump campaign approved of me doing this prayer,” Dhillon told The Post.

“We ran the script by them, and no one has expressed regret for that.”