A Hindu leader is urging the Maltese government to treat all religions equally, adding he was perturbed that the law distinguished between the Roman Catholic Church and "other cults".

Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, based in Nevada, US, pointed out that the Maltese Criminal Code laid down that a person who vilified the Roman Catholic Church, Malta's religion, could face six months jail. The same law added that vilifying any "other cult tolerated by law" was liable to imprisonment of up to three months.

"It seems to imply that, except for the Roman Catholic religion, other religions and denominations, including Hinduism, are just one of the cults," Mr Zed said.

He explained that as president of the society he kept himself updated on religion-related issues in the world and a recent Maltese court case came to his attention.

He was referring to the case where earlier this month a 26-year-old man from Żejtun was given a suspended jail term after admitting to dressing up as Jesus Christ during carnival celebrations in Nadur on February 21.

"It was perturbing to note that a country within the EU, which prides itself of its human rights initiatives, apparently treats crimes against religious sentiment of 'other' religions/denominations as less serious than against the majority's religion and describes other religions/denominations as cults," Mr Zed said, calling on the government to treat all religions equally.