Slander against any religious group should not be considered an acceptable form of entertainment.Д¤.

Even though Sikhs and HinduвЂ™s are different, our values require us to stand up and protect the rights of the oppressed. To charge a nation of 200 million people worldwide as followers of an injurious cult leader is an unacceptable practice and factually incorrect. The Dalits are Hindus, and a people who have faced oppression that continues today. Dalits are not 'untouchables' and strongly resent such a characterization. Hitman 2 refers to Dalits as вЂњuntouchablesвЂќ. The actions in the game promote intolerance against religious minorities and may endanger innocent Sikhs all over the world.ДЈ. If this game is allowed today, then any religious group or place of worship such as a Synagogue, a Church or a Mosque, may become the next setting for violence and bloodshed.Дў. Hitman 2 portrays violence against turbaned Sikhs within the sacred grounds of our religious holy place. Hitman 2 promotes racial and religious intolerance against a specific group of people, and disrespect towards all of the worldвЂ™s religions.ДЇor the following reasons, we are asking retailers worldwide to pull Hitman 2 off their shelves and not to carry any products by Eidos Interactive, including Lara Croft, Tomb Raider for Playstation 2, until the company recalls all of their Hitman 2 games:ДЎ. Using the Sikh Golden Temple as a background for violence is as distasteful as using the Vatican, Bethlehem or Mecca. The setting for some of the worst violence in Hitman 2 is a Sikh temple whose description matches the Harimander Sahib located in Amritsar, the most prominent shrine for the Sikhs and one of the few places of worship on earth built to welcome people from all religions, cultures, and backgrounds to worship God together. Sikh values include protection of the downtrodden, equal treatment of all faiths and persons without regard to their gender, caste, creed and ethic originвЂ“ these same principles upon which the great democracies are founded.

The Sikh faith teaches the humanitarian principles of freedom, equality, and justice. Sikhs are law-abiding citizens and contribute greatly to the global economy. Sikh men do not cut their hair or beards and Sikhs wear turbans as a reminder of their core values: discipline, honesty, integrity, ethics, spirituality and humility. Sikhs have a distinctive physical appearance. Sikhism is the worldвЂ™s fifth largest religion with 26 million adherents across the globe. Eidos's choice to target a specific religious group in Hitman 2 is not only socially irresponsible, but also potentially dangerous to Sikhs worldwide, as their turbans have made them the focus of backlash attacks in the post-September 11th environment. This game is developed and distributed by Eidos Interactive. In a world climate where racial and religious intolerance claims thousands of lives every day, the Sikh community is appalled by images and text in the sniper-themed videogame Hitman 2 portraying Sikhs being killed within their most prominent temple, the Harimander Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple.

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