India struggles to contain fallout amid Muslim outrage;  Calls for boycott

India struggles to contain fallout amid Muslim outrage; Calls for boycott

NEW DELHI, June 6, (Agencies): India is facing major diplomatic outrage from Muslim-majority countries after top officials in the governing Hindu nationalist party made derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), drawing accusations of blasphemy across some Arabs Nations that have left New Delhi struggling to contain the fallout. At least five Arab nations have lodged official protests against India, and Pakistan and also reacted strongly to the comments made by two prominent spokespeople from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday. Anger has poured out on social media, and calls for a boycott of Indian goods have surfaced in some Arab nations. At home, it has led to protests against Modi’s party in some parts of the country. The controversial remarks follow increasing violence targeting India’s Muslim minority carried out by Hindu nationalists who have been emboldened by Modi’s regular silence about such attacks since he was first elected in 2014.

Indian Muslims hold placards demanding the arrest of Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson of the governing Hindu nationalist party as they react to the derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad made by her during a protest in Mumbai, India, Monday, June 6, 2022. At Least five Arab nations have lodged official protests against India, and Pakistan and also reacted strongly to the comments made Monday by two prominent spokespeople from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Targeted
Over the years, Indian Muslims have often been targeted for everything from their food and clothing style to inter-religious marriages. Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned that attacks could escalate. They have also accused Modi’s governing party of looking the other way and sometimes hateful speech against Muslims, who comprises 14% of India’s 1.4 billion people but are still numerous enough to be the second-largest Muslim population of any nation. Modi’s party denies the accusations, but India’s Muslims say attacks against them and their faith have increased sharply.

The anger has been growing since last week after the two spokespeople, Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, made speculative remarks that were seen as insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his wife Aisha. Modi’s party took no action against them until Sunday, when a sudden chorus of diplomatic outrage began with Qatar and Kuwait summoning their Indian ambassadors to protest. The BJP suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal and issued a rare statement saying it “strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities,” a move that was welcomed by Qatar and Kuwait. Later, Saudi Arabia and Iran also lodged complaints with India, and the Jeddha-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation said the remarks came in a “context of intensifying hatred and abuse toward Islam in India and systematic practices against Muslims.” India’s Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected the comments by the OIC as “unwarranted” and “narrow-minded.”

On Sunday, India’s embassies in Qatar and Kuwait released a statement saying the views expressed about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Islam were not those of the Indian government and were made by “fringe elements.” The statement said that strong action had already been taken against those who made the derogatory remarks. The criticism from Muslim countries, however, was severe, indicating that insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a red line.

Apology
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it expected a public apology from the Indian government, and Kuwait warned that if the comments go unpunished, India would see “an increase of extremism and hatred.” The Grand Mufti of Oman described the “obscene rudeness” of Modi’s party toward Islam as a form of “war.” Riyadh said the comments were insulting and called for “respect for beliefs and religions.” And Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque, the Sunni world’s foremost institution of religious learning, described the remarks as “real terrorism (that) can plunge the entire world into severe crises and deadly wars.” The remarks made by Sharma during a TV program in India and Jindal in a tweet risky India’s ties with Arab nations. Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Al-Hajraf Sunday condemned and denounced the insulting remarks issued by members of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In a statement, Al-Hajraf expressed a strong rejection to insulting prophets and messengers as well as religious dignitaries.

The post India struggles to contain fallout amid Muslim outrage; Calls for boycott appeared first on ARAB TIMES – KUWAIT NEWS.

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