Sikh Diaspora condemns Florida pastor threat to burn holy Quran

NEW DELHI - Even as the Florida pastor has reportedly called off his plans of a bonfire of Qurans, the threat for such an act has invited condemnation from the Sikh fraternity.

Sikh leaders have urged President Obama to use his extra Presidential powers to punish those who are trying to breed hatred in the society.

Washington-based Sikh leader Amarjit Singh on Saturday sought to urge the United States President, Barack Obama, to use his extra Presidential powers to stop those anti social elements who are trying to divide the society.

He strongly condemned the proposed act of Luke Jones, the son of the Rev. Terry Jones. He said that giving rise to hate in the society is a heinous crime that needs to be stopped by all means.

Convener of the American Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (AGPC) Dr. Pritpal Singh said that anyone who makes an attempt to create hate in the society should be punished.

President of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), Sham Singh, also condemned the threat to burn the Quran.

In Amritsar, Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, said that all religious scriptures are venerable.

Singh said Sikhs maintain that none of the religious scriptures teaches terrorism and due to a few miscreants’ acts the blame should not be imposed upon all the community. We must remember: “Terrorism has no religion”.

President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Parmjit Singh Sarna criticised the thread and said that such acts would strengthen separatist forces and extremists.

Amid universal pressure from Washington, the controversial Florida pastor called off his plans, stating that he was doing so after assurances that proposed mosque near Ground Zero in New York City would not be constructed there.

On Saturday, Obama said, “All men and women are created equal, they have certain inalienable rights, and one of those is to practice their religion freely.

“You can build a church on a site, you can build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, you should be able to build a mosque,” Obama stated. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)