BJP Prophet Muhammad Nupur Sharma

2022 - 6 - 6

Post cover — Image courtesy of "BBC News"

Nupur Sharma: Prophet Muhammad controversy tests India-Islamic ... (BBC News)

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Iran have registered protests over the remark by BJP leader Nupur Sharma.

Critics say that religious polarisation has increased in India since the BJP came to power. TV channels have held provocative debates and social media has seen rampant hate over the issue. There have also been reports of some stores in Qatar and Kuwait removing Indian products from their shelves. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a regular visitor to the region since coming to power in 2014. Another bright spot is the handling of the Ukraine crisis," former Indian diplomat Jitendra Nath Misra said. Not doing so, they say, runs the risk of damaging India's ties with the Arab world and Iran. Hate speech and attacks against Muslims have risen sharply since the BJP came to power in 2014. Millions of Indians live and work in these countries and send millions of dollars in remittances back home. Senior BJP leaders and other diplomats have also condemned the controversial statement. "The BJP strongly denounces insults of any religious personalities of any religion. The BJP is also against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The comments - especially Ms Sharma's - angered the country's minority Muslim community, leading to sporadic protests in some states.

Qatar, other Muslim nations condemn India over anti-Islam remarks (Aljazeera.com)

Doha says it expects a 'public apology' from New Delhi over comments made by two BJP members against Prophet Muhammad.

I don’t see that is going to go away because of this incident,” he told Al Jazeera. Critics say these tensions have been further exacerbated by India’s TV channel anchors during raucous debates. Unless officially and systemically confronted, the systemic hate speech targeting Islam in India will be considered a deliberate insult against two billion Muslims.” In fact, they saw their offices either shut or foreign funding frozen.” Anger has poured out on social media, and calls for a boycott of Indian goods have surfaced in some Arab countries. Katju, the former Indian diplomat, said there is a “mutuality of interest between India and the Gulf”. India’s embassy in Qatar released a statement on Sunday, saying the views expressed against the Prophet and Islam were not that of the Indian government but were made by “fringe elements”. Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeera’s Pavni Mittal said the BJP members’ remarks put India in a “very embarrassing position” and that the Indian government is attempting “damage control”. But critics say the actions are “too little, too late”. The Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said the remarks came in a “context of intensifying hatred and abuse toward Islam in India and systematic practices against Muslims”. On Monday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned an Indian diplomat and conveyed Islamabad’s “strong condemnation”, a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the comments were “hurtful” and that “India under Modi is trampling religious freedoms and persecuting Muslims”. The grand mufti of the sultanate of Oman described the “obscene rudeness” of Modi’s party towards Islam as a form of “war”. And Saudi Arabia said the comments were “insulting” and called for “respect for beliefs and religions” as it and Iran lodged complaints with India. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Summons the Indian Ambassador and Hands Him an Official Note on Qatar’s Total Rejection and Condemnation of the Remarks of an Official in the Ruling Party in India Against Prophet Mohammed#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/rp7kMnWXdu

Prophet Muhammad remarks embroil India in row with Gulf states (The Guardian)

'Insulting' comments by spokespeople for ruling Bharatiya Janata party met with anger in Middle East. India's prime minister, Narendra Modi.

Nearly 40% of India’s gas requirements come from Qatar and about 6.5 million Indians live in the Gulf region. The Indian ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, was summoned and given an official reprimand “expressing the disappointment of the State of Qatar and its total rejection and condemnation to the controversial remarks made by an official in the ruling party in India against Prophet Muhammad”. Following an outcry over the comments, Jindal posted a tweet about the prophet – that he has since deleted – which also caused anger.

Nupur Sharma's Prophet Muhammad slur put Gulf trade at risk (Quartz India)

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iran increasingly feel Muslims are unsafe in India.

Just a day ago, though, India’s envoys, like the one in Qatar, had alluded to Sharma and Jindal as “ fringe elements” who didn’t represent India’s views on religious freedom. Today (June 6), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which has 57 member states, also voiced its concerns about the situation. This sparked outrage among Muslims and the political opposition in India. Some even asked for police action against Sharma; her statements also fuelled violence in the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. A press conference scheduled for Naidu on the next day, too, was nixed. In response, the spokesperson of the Indian foreign affairs ministry called the OIC’s views “narrow-minded” and “unwarranted”, and that the comments “denigrating” the prophet were made by “ certain individuals.” All that now hangs in the balance.

Prophet Muhammad comments by India ruling party officials spark ... (The Independent)

At least five Arab nations, along with Pakistan and Afghanistan, have lodged official protests against India for the comments made by two prominent spokespeople ...

The calls for action from Gulf nations also resulted in a boycott of Indian products by several stores. “I am not very pessimistic that this is going to last for a very long time,” he said. Watchdog groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned that such attacks could escalate. “India’s relations with the Arab world in particular have been very, very strong in recent times. Sheikh al-Khalili, the grand mufti (head priest) of Oman, tweeted that such comments amounted to “war against every Muslim”. The Hindu-majority party said that it respected all religions.

Remarks on Prophet Mohammad: As criticism grows, India rejects ... (The Indian Express)

Pakistan joined three other Islamic countries in summoning the Indian envoy to mark their displeasure. Bahrain too commented on the controversy, but appreciated ...

India has often responded sharply to any criticism from the OIC, as it feels that much of it is orchestrated by Pakistan, thus the thinly veiled reference to the “vested interests” in its response. On Sunday, the BJP had suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal, as over the weekend there was a growing chorus of criticism from the Arab world against their comments. The world has been witness to the systemic persecution of minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadiyyas by Pakistan.” He repeated that the Indian government “accords the highest respect to all religions,” which, he added, “is quite unlike Pakistan where fanatics are eulogized and monuments built in their honour.” 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. They do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. Strong action has already been taken against these individuals by relevant bodies.” Further, he also said that it was “regrettable that OIC Secretariat has yet again chosen to make motivated, misleading and mischievous comments.

Muslim nations slam India over insulting remarks about Islam | CBC ... (CBC.ca)

India is facing major diplomatic outrage from Muslim-majority countries after two top officials in the governing Hindu nationalist party made derogatory ...

The statement said that strong action had already been taken against those who made the derogatory remarks. 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. Over the years, Indian Muslims have often been targeted for everything from their food and clothing style to inter-religious marriages. At home, it has led to protests against Modi's party in some parts of the country. 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." On Sunday, India's embassies in Qatar and Kuwait released a statement saying the views expressed about the Prophet Muhammad and Islam were not those of the Indian government and were made by "fringe elements."