US magazine apologises for using Guru's picture

A leading US golf magazine has apologised to Sikhs after an image of Guru Arjan Dev in its May issue with a tag line "Golf Guru" drew strong protests from the community.

Editor-in-Chief of Golf Digest Jerry Tarde has expressed regret for the "mistake" and said they have learnt an "important lesson," civil rights group Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF) said on Friday.

The magazine also agreed to stop using the image which showed the guru holding a golf club in the magazine and its website.

"It has been brought to our attention that an illustration in the May issue of Golf Digest inadvertently depicted a golfing character resembling an image of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, who is a revered religious figure in Sikhism. This was not our intent," a printed apology by Tarde that was released by SALDEF said. "We apologise for the use and for any offense to the Sikh community."

After a Sikh blogger drew its attention to the issue, SLADEF launched a petition expressing displeasure at the publication of image. The image was published along with an article "The Golf Guru" which answers readers' questions about general topics associated with golf.

SLADEF said the beginning of the article features an image which, at first glance, appears to be a South Asian man donning a turban and a beard and holding a golf club.

However, under closer examination, the image Golf Digest uses appears to be a widely distributed picture of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev, it said.