Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has reportedly sent out a letter threatening to kill Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar while he was in Penang over the weekend.
The Malaysian police are investigating the contents and origin of the letter, which accuses the spiritual Hindu leaders of meddling in the Islamic affairs of Iran and Iraq.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed that a letter was posted locally to the office of Art of Living’s Malaysian chapter, at the Penang Hotel in Shah Alam suburb. The spiritual guru was at a yoga festival in the hotel that was being attended by thousands of his followers from George Town and Batu Kawan.
The letter was addressed to the manager of hotel where Ravi Shankar was staying during his visit. It featured the black flag of ISIS and a picture of a man beheaded, according to the police.
The letter reportedly warned the manager that his hotel would be “destroyed” and the spiritual guru “killed” if he was allowed to “carry out his Hindu activities in Malaysia”.
The letter also claimed that Ravi Shankar and his organisation, Art of Living Foundation, were “meddling in the Islamic affairs of Iran and Iraq” and converting Muslims in the Middle East.
“If he steps foot in Malaysia, your hotel and venues of his activities will be destroyed and many thousands will die for him. We don’t want Ravi Shankar to step into a Muslim country,” the letter read.
An Art of Living representative here said the guru was in Penang on Saturday for a yoga festival and addressed about 70,000 people at the Batu Kawan Stadium in a talk titled “Discourse, Music and Meditation”.
They confirmed that Ravi Shankar left for Singapore after a symposium yesterday.
The case is being probed under Section 507 of Malaysia’s Penal Code for criminal intimidation via anonymous communication, the Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi, said.
The ANI also tweeted a picture of the threat package that was received by the hotel.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)