London, April 16 -- A UK-based umbrella body of Sikh organisations has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to legally challenge the government's decision to launch a new anti-Muslim hostility definition. UK Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed had tabled the definition alongside a social cohesion strategy in Parliament last month as a crackdown on "unacceptable prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed at Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim". However, some British Hindu and Sikh groups had expressed concerns over the impactsuch a definition would have on freedom of religion in the UK. "Freedom of religion and belief for British Sikhs is under threat with the government-backed 'anti-Muslim' hostility definition," the Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) said. "We are compelled to pursue judicial review due to the government's actions and their expected effect on British Sikhs and other faith groups' ability to practice their beliefs. "We believe there should be one law for all. As we previously stated, if there is a special government-backed definition for one group, why not for others - a 'tsar' for one, why then the exclusivity? "Allegations of 'anti-Muslim hostility' will act like non-crime hate incidents - that is they don't meet the criminal threshold, but are investigated, nevertheless, and this will have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and religious freedom. The process then becomes the punishment," it stated. The NSO fears the new non-statutory definition will likely permeate extensively across schools, universities, councils, the workplace and the online arena. "The definition poses problems that threaten free speech and will directly affect how British Sikhs (and other faiths) are able to express and manifest their faith, and moreover openly discuss their history," it noted....