I think you are being a bit harsh here. Sure, the white man in a turban might be a totally normal person capable of carrying out good work. But in terms of probabilities, there's also a significant chance they are an esoteric new-agey type (in my mind). The latter possibility is confirmed by the "predicted the work of the task force would be so powerful, it would cause the sun to rise in the west" bit, which is the actually critical part of that quote. So the turban bit is included to give a fuller picture of this weird new-agey type who says ridiculous things like that, or so it seems to me.
The author provided no context for the sun rising in the west comment, which in every usage I've seen is a metaphor for a fundamental societal shift, not a literal astronomical prediction. The principle of charity applies there too.
The reality that a large number of Gora Sikhs practice the faith they were raised in undermines the new-agey argument, unless one is singling out their actual religion which is centuries old in it's current form.
The only other explanation for the comment is the appalling idea that a person should be ridiculed for adopting the culture of which they don't share the dominant adherents' physical phenotype.
