William Hewat McLeod (1932–2009; also Hew McLeod) was a New Zealander scholar who helped establish Sikh Studies as a distinctive field. Considered to be the most prominent Western historian of Sikhism, his publications had introduced higher criticism to Sikh sources for the first time and influenced generations of scholars. However, his scholarship remains controversial among traditional Khalsa scholars, who accuse him of disrespecting the religion and argue that Sikhism can't be studied using Western disciplines and constructs.