The publisher, Tara Singh Hayer, had received death threats for his newspaper's frequent calls for an end to religious violence.

Police described his killing as an assassination.

Mr Hayer's newspaper, the Indo-Canadian Times, made a strong stand against factional violence within the Sikh community.

Speakers at the funeral in Vancouver, who included Canadian politicians, blamed Mr Hayer's death on religious extremists, but police say they have no suspect yet in the killing.

Dozens of police officers provided a tight and visible security presence at the service.

Similar gatherings in recent months have ended in violent clashes between moderate and orthodox Sikh factions.

This funeral was peaceful, but the community is reported to be bracing itself for temple elections next week.

Community politics

The vote follows a bitter campaign that has been fought over issues of religious doctrine and money.

Mr Hayer, 64, a well-known member of the Indo-Canadian community, had been the target of an assassination attempt in 1988 which left him in a wheel-chair.

Sikh leadership elections have been linked to the murder

In July, he was excommunicated by the Sikh clergy, who declared him guilty of religious misconduct, and called on Sikhs all over the world to sever social, religious, economic and political ties with him.

The ruling came after a long running dispute in the Sikh community between fundamentalist and moderates over the use of tables and chairs in its religious temples.

Fundamentalists consider the tables and chairs to be improper additions to a temple.