The National Library Board (NLB) has pulled a series of Malay language books from its shelves after being alerted to their extremist and prejudicial content.

According to The New Paper, the books belong in a series called Agama, Tamadun Dan Arkeologi (Religion, Civilisation And Archeology), and they focus on different religions and civilisations.

There are eight books in the series, and about 30 copies of each book.

One of the books contained extremist ideas of a third world war occurring between Israel and other states in the Middle East. The cover depicts children in yarmulkes (a skullcap worn in public or during prayer by Orthodox Jewish men), smiling and holding machine guns.

Other books contain sexist sentiments perpetuated by religion.

The contents are of concern because they have the potential to sow racial and religious discord in Singapore.

The books were first discovered by a local Twitter user, whose account has been deleted following criticism from other users.

An NLB spokesperson speaking to TNP says they will call upon the Library Consultative Panel (LCP) to review the series.

The LCP is an independent panel set up to review library materials following the penguin incident in 2014.

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