An organization representing Hindus in the United States has released a statement objecting to a moment from a recent X-Men comic.

The comic in question is Uncanny X-Men #5. In the issue, X-Man - a mutant with powerful enough psychic abilities to alter the fabric of reality - is attempting to “save the world.” X-Man decides that to bring the Earth’s population together he must erase those things that divide them, including religion.

X-Man uses his powers to cause all “fake houses of worship” on Earth to disappear. This includes the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Hindu Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, India. X-Man, with all his power, sets himself up to fill the position of new god for the Earth.

(Photo: RB Silva, Marvel Entertainment)

The Universal Society of Hinduism has released a statement urging Marvel to apologize for calling the Hindu temple a “fake house of worship.”

Here’s the message from Rejan Zed, the President of the Universal Society of Hinduism.

“Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was very hurtful to the Hindu community when a popular platform like Marvel labeled a sacred and highly revered Hindu temple as a fake house of worship.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stated that it was highly inappropriate, and urged Marvel to immediately issue an official apology for hurting the sentiments of Hindu devotees, and publish it prominently on its website.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.

Besides hurting the sentiments, such misrepresentation created confusion among non-Hindus about Hinduism. Insensitive handling of faith traditions sometimes resulted in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols, Zed pointed out.

Rajan Zed further said that Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers.

Comics publishers should be more sensitive while handling faith related subjects; as these being a powerful medium; left lasting impact on the unsuspecting minds of highly impressionable children, teens and other young people, Zed added.”

It is worth noting that X-Man does not specifically target Hinduism as a false religion. X-Man also causes St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and the Kaaba in Mecca to vanish. X-Man’s message is that he, as a mutant with godlike-power, renders all other religious beliefs superfluous.

This isn’t the first time that the Universal Society of Hindus has butted heads with Marvel’s mutants. The organization objected to Apocalypse claiming that was the Hindu deity Krishna in the film X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016.

What do you think of the Hindu organization’s request for an apology? Let us know in the comments.

Uncanny X-Men #5 is on sale now. The story continues in Uncanny X-Men #6 next week.