KUWAIT: Sikhe.com correspondent from the Middle East reported that local Sikhs expressed concern at the recent Times of India news report regarding the demand for the Kuwait Gurdwara to be shut down.

Kuwaiti Sikh leaders pointed out the need to categorically affirm that Sikhism does not preach against Islam. "This is a very serious matter," said a Sikh leader asking not to be named. "The news coverage states that the Kuwaiti people have taken Sikhi to task as anti-Islamic which is absolutely false and untrue."

"If this matter is not taken seriously it could be the beginning of a new wave which will hurt all the Sikhs in Muslim countries, especially where there are Gurdwaras."

Local Sikhs appealed for the matter to be clarified that Sikhism does not preach anything anti-Islamic as claimed in the said news. "A petition must be sent to global organizations and the U.N. to allow the Sikh Gurdwaras in the middle-east to peacefully function," they said.

"We cannot afford this kind of unjust propaganda against Sikhs," said a Sikh spokesman, requesting the Sikh Diaspora to put this matter on a high priority if the worldwide Sikh community wishes for Sikhs to survive in a honourable manner in the middle-east and the Islamic world.