World Sikh Parliament join campaign against TikTok anti-Sikh hate

The World Sikh Parliament is the latest Sikh organisation lending weight to a campaign – which includes a petition signed by over 6000 people – aimed at addressing anti-Sikh hate TikTok.

In a letter (see below, released 31st Jan), the global Sikh lobbying network called for “global solidarity” between Sikh organisations as “law enforcement conducts its investigations” into an ongoing issue of beadbi (sacrilege) involving desecration of Gurbani (Guru’s word, Sikh scripture).

The letter relates to a longtime anti-Sikh hate campaign which sees individuals – usually of Pakistani/Afghan/Kashmiri Muslim background – disrespecting Sikh scripture both verbally and physically in TikTok videos designed to provoke and insult the faith. The videos are uploaded to TikTok and then often circulated through Whatsapp. The issue is at least two-years-old. Countless Sikhs have reported such content to TikTok, and Sikh PA is among various Sikh orgs to have contacted the social media giants directly, in attempts to have the hate campaign addressed. The fanatical perpetrators are believed to have often been triggered from religious debates on TikTok and parchar (Sikh education) which details differences between the faiths and the Sikh history of resistance against Islamic extremism. The acts of beadbi are commonly done on TikTok livestreams.

In September of last year a Pakistani Muslim man in Australia was convicted of “Conduct intended to racially harass” for being found to be behind acts of beadbi, some of which was filmed in-and-outside a Perth Gurdwara. In December 2024 it was confirmed the anti-Sikh criminal Khizar Hayat (21-years-old) would be deported for the crime. Read more here.

A petition started by the Sikh Army community group is calling for UK law to change to help address the issue. In Sikhi, Gurbani in written form is considered sacred and Guru Granth Sahib Ji (scriptural Guru) is revered as the current living Guru of the Sikhs. Over 6000 people have currently signed the petition which calls for UK law to “recognise Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji as a Living Guru, not a religious book”, a change which would force acts of beadbi to be taken more seriously legally.

See the petition here- Petition · Amend Law to Recognise Guru Granth Sahib Ji as a Living Guru instead of a Religious Book – United Kingdom · Change.org.

The petition is partly aimed at forcing TikTok to address the anti-Sikh hate occurring on the app, which also includes “grooming”, where vulnerable users are targeted by other users aiming to bully/coerce them into converting, which is then used to distance the target from their families for nefarious reasons.

Speaking on the petition, Sikh Army state:

“We are deeply concerned regarding the unregulated nature of TikTok and the significant dangers it poses to the Sikh community. These actions are not only deeply offensive and hurtful but also contribute to the growing tensions and divisions among different religious groups.

“For over nine months, a group of concerned Sikhs have been working together to highlight and report these incidents but this has resulted in ‘no violations committed’ meaning there are no breaches made to TikTok’s Community Guidelines. A petition has gathered 6000+ signatures to give Sri Guru Granth Sahib Maharaj Ji a status of a living entity, so that we can more effectively take legal action against perpetrators of beadbi. TikTok have been approached to set up a meeting to discuss how its reporting mechanism can be improved to block users committing online grooming and beadbi.”

Sikh groups remain waiting on action by TikTok or any UK authorities willing to look into the situation.