Mon 06 June 2022:
The 57-member 01C, which sees itself as the collective voice of the Muslim world, also slammed India for the comments against the Prophet and called upon the UN to take necessary measures to address ‘the practices targeting Muslims in India”.
“These abuses come in the context of the escalation of hatred and abuse of Islam in India and in the context of the systematic practices against Muslims and restrictions on them, especially in light of a series of decisions banning headscarves in educational institutions in a number of Indian states and demolitions of Muslim property, in addition to the increase in violence against them,” it said.
INDIA: BJP DISTANCES ITSELF FROM NUPUR SHARMA’S REMARKS ON PROPHET, ISSUES STATEMENT
The OIC called upon Indian to resolutely confront these abuses and to ensure the safety, security and well-being of the Muslim community in India and to protect its rights, religious and cultural identity, dignity and places of worship.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has accused the Islamic nations body of opting a “communal approach”. Lashing out at the OIC, the foreign ministry on Monday said: “It is regrettable that OIC Secretariat has yet again chosen to make motivated, misleading and mischievous comments. This only exposes its divisive agenda being pursued at the behest of vested interests. We would urge the OIC Secretariat to stop pursuing its communal approach and show due respect to all faiths and religions.”
Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia have condemned remarks on Prophet Muhammed made by two BJP leaders who have since been suspended. The controversy erupted amid Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s tour of Qatar.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, one of the most significant voices in the Arab world, also issued a statement late Sunday evening, but did not go as far as issuing a démarche like the other three nations from the Gulf region. Its ministry of foreign affairs expressed “its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party, which insult the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.”
Riyadh is the latest to condemn the remarks. Qatar, Kuwait and Iran summoned the Indian envoy on Sunday amid widespread calls on social media for a boycott of Indian goods in the Gulf.
Taliban
The kingdom was also joined by the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan government, which said in a statement that the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns the use of derogatory words against the Prophet of Islam (Peace be upon him) by an official of the ruling party in India,” and urged “the Indian government not to allow such fanatics to insult the holy religion of Islam and provoke the feelings of Muslims.”
Bahrain
Bahrain’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday that it “welcomed” BJP’s decision to “suspend the party’s spokeswoman, stressing the need to denounce any reprehensible insults against the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, as a provocation to Muslims’ feelings and incitement to religious hatred.” It emphasised the “importance of respecting all religious beliefs, symbols, and personalities, and the concerted efforts of the international community to spread the values of moderation, tolerance, and dialogue between religions and civilizations, and to confront extremist ideas that feed sedition and religious, sectarian, or racial hatred.”
Qatar – Kuwait
AFTER QATAR, KUWAIT SUMMONS INDIAN ENVOY OVER BJP LEADERS’ REMARKS ON PROPHET
The Indian envoy in Doha was summoned to the foreign ministry and handed an official protest letter which said “Qatar is expecting a public apology and immediate condemnation of these remarks from the government of India”. Qatar’s condemnation came amid Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s high-profile tour of the wealthy Gulf state along with Indian business leaders to boost trade.
Neighbouring Kuwait, like Qatar, summoned India’s ambassador and demanded a “public apology for these hostile statements, the continuation of which would constitute a deterrent measure or punishment to increase extremism and hatred and undermine the elements of moderation”.
QATAR SUMMONS INDIAN ENVOY OVER LEADER’S REMARKS AGAINST PROPHET MUHAMMAD; BJP SUSPENDS NUPUR SHARMA
Pakistan
Pakistan also echoed concerns of the Arab nations, saying that “strongly condemn and reject the totally unacceptable derogatory remarks by BJP officials about Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This has deeply hurt sentiments of Muslims in Pakistan, India & across the world.”
The neighbouring nation also made a strong démarche to the Indian Charge d’ Affaires in Islamabad over the matter.
According to a statement by the Foreign Office, “The Indian diplomat was further told that Pakistan deplores the belated and perfunctory disciplinary actions taken by the BJP government against the said officials, which cannot assuage the pain caused to the Muslims.”
“Pakistan calls upon the international community, including the United Nations and OIC, especially their human rights machinery, to take cognizance of and stop the dangerously rising ‘Hindutva’ inspired Islamophobia in India, and prevail upon the Indian authorities to prevent the systematic human rights violations against minorities in the country,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
The comments were made by Nupur Sharma during a TV debate last week in the backdrop of a series of communal incidents across the country. BJP media chief Naveen Jindal posted a tweet about the Prophet, which he later deleted.
The trouble spiked in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Forty people were injured in Kanpur when two groups clashed after Friday prayers.
Al-Azhar
Al-Azhar Al-Sharif expressed strong condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokesperson of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, insulting Prophet Mohammed (pbuh).
In a statement, Al-Azhar described such a behavior as a real terrorist action that helps to push the entire world to devastating crises and bloody wars, calling on the world community to firmly ward off such threats.
Al-Azhar confirmed that the recent resort of some politicians to defame Islam to collect votes of extremists is a blatant call for extremism, spread of hatred and discord among followers of religions.
Boycott India
Hashtags calling for the boycott of Indian products began trending on Twitter in several Arab countries over alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Mohammad by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal who heads BJPs Delhi Media, both have been suspended by the party, ANI reported.
The Grand Mufti of Oman tweeted and called for a boycott. The tweets also included a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Stores in Kuwait boycott Indian goods after remarks on the Prophet Mohammed by an official in India’s ruling party.#إلا_رسول_الله_يا_مودي #BoycottIndianProducts #BoycottIndia #nupursharmabjp pic.twitter.com/f1XMgV7clc
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) June 6, 2022
The Grand Mufti of Oman, Sheikh Al-Khalili tweeted: “The insolent and obscene rudeness of the official spokesman for the ruling extremist party in India against the Messenger of Islam, peace be upon him, and his pure wife, Mother of the Believers Aisha, may God be pleased with her, is a war against every Muslim in the east and west of the earth, and it is a matter that calls for all Muslims to rise as one nation”
Arab nations are looking to take concrete action to soothe anger among their own people. Hashtags criticising India have been trending in these countries and the incident has been the top story in their media outlets.
Some of these hashtags have called for a boycott of Indian products. There have also been reports of some stores in Qatar and Kuwait removing Indian products from their shelves.
India’s trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE, stood at $87 billion in 2020-21. Millions of Indians live and work in these countries and send millions of dollars in remittances back home. The region is also the top source for India’s energy imports.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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