Immediate Apology Sought after Sikhs Termed Taliban by BBC Radio Presenter

LONDON, UK : BBC radio DJ and presenter Bobby Friction has offended Sikhs by using the term ‘Sikh Taliban’ on Twitter and failing to issue an apology. Instead he
has tried to justify his use of the term, that he incredibly continues to describe as a ‘metaphor’. His comments reproduced below have been described as irresponsible and unacceptable by leading Sikh organisations. The BBC has started to receive complaints for what many have described as ‘shocking and disgraceful’ remarks. An online petition of complaints to the BBC has also been launched due to the numbers wishing to complain:
In a press statement, the Sikh Federation UK stated –
There is no room for such language for law-abiding Sikhs and a term directly associated with an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan that British armed forces have been confronting and laying down their lives. Condemnation of Bobby Friction from the British Sikh community has been swift and widespread.
There are no excuses for causing offence by using the term ‘Taliban’ that not only reminds Sikhs of sacrifices of the Sikh Gurus at the hands of the Mughal emperors, but also verbal abuse, racist attacks and killings of innocent turban wearing Sikhs in more recent times since 9/11. It is flippant remarks like these that fuel calls for the BBC not to be funded through the licence fee. The comment by Bobby Friction on Twitter follows his personal desire for Gurdwaras to allow people of different faiths to partake in an Anand Karaj (Sikhreligious wedding ceremony) and refusing to accept the Sikh Code of Conduct. The Code states: “Persons professing faiths other than the Sikh faith cannot be joined in wedlock by the Anand Karaj ceremony.”