IPOH, Dec 20 — The Malaysia National Sikhs Movement has urged authorities to investigate the author of a book who was alleged to have created disparaging aspersions on the community and religion.
The movement said the book, titled Yahudi, Kristian, Hindu dan Buddha berasal daripada Islam?, has upset members of the Sikh community as it attempted to blend the Sikh religion with Islam.
The Sikh group’s umbrage is rooted in its claim that there are several factual errors in the book, which contains a topic under the heading Agama Sikh berasal daripada Islam (Sikhism stems from Islam).
The movement’s secretary-general, Datuk Amarjit Singh, said the errors include suggestions that Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, had performed the haj in Mecca, and that Kabir, a devout Muslim saint, was said to be the person who came up with the base of the Sikh religion before it was founded by Guru Nanak.
"It is an attempt by the author to confuse the people, perhaps an attempt to bring people of different faiths into Islam,” said the Ipoh-based lawyer.
"This is an act of blasphemy and cannot be tolerated, particularly in Malaysia where all faiths live in harmony.”
Amarjit said the statements in the book were cause for concern, noting that similar references to those made by Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.
He called for the author to issue a public apology and to remove the publication from bookstores until the errors were rectified.
Amarjit said he had lodged a report at the Ipoh district police headquarters on Sunday on behalf of the movement.
He noted that a similar erroneous statement on the founding of Sikhism was made by a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer in June, leading the university’s vice-chancellor to make a public apology.
"No one should disrespect other people’s religions. It is off-limits and moves of this nature should not be taken lightly,” he said.
"We want the authorities to investigate and ensure such episodes do not happen again.”
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