WASHINGTON: Republican presidential hopeful

Mitt Romney

mourned the

Wisconsin gurdwara

tragedy at a fundraiser in Iowa, but referred to a 'sheik temple' instead of a 'Sikh temple' while offering his condolences.

Confusing the Arabic honorific with the term Sikh, Romney mispronounced it and was found talking about 'sheik' people. Earlier in the day, the Republican spoke correctly of the Sikh religion when he observed a moment of silence at a campaign event in Illinois. But the slip of tongue came at the West Des Moines fundraiser in Iowa. "We had a moment of silence in honour of the people who lost their lives at that sheik temple. I noted that it was a tragedy for many, many reasons," he said referring to his discourse in

Chicago

.

He went on: "Among them are the fact that people, the sheik people, are among the most peaceable and loving individuals you can imagine, as is their faith." Romney's spokesman,

Rick Gorka

insisted that the mix-up was a mispronunciation.