By Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan
Indian ambassadors in the Gulf region were summoned by their host foreign ministries while others issued strong statements condemning the remarks of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party in India, members against Prophet Mohammed.
Qatar was the first country to summon the Indian ambassador to lodge a protest note and demand a “public apology” from the Indian government over the remarks made by a BJP functionary against Prophet Mohammed. Qatar’s summoning of the Indian envoy is particularly significant as Indian vice president Venkaiah Naidu is on an official visit to the kingdom and held talks with senior government officials earlier in the day. While a scheduled lunch with a senior Qatari government functionary did not take place, it is not clear that it was due to today’s summoning.
After Qatar, Kuwait’s foreign ministry also issued a statement that the Indian ambassador had been summoned and handed over a protest note over “abusive statements” made by “an official in the ruling party”.
Late night, Iran also announced that the Indian ambassador Gaddam Dharmendra had been summoned to the foreign ministry.
Thereafter, Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Gulf, and the leader of the Muslim Ummah issued a statement condemning the remarks of the BJP members. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, insulting Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him. And reaffirms its permanent rejection of prejudice against the symbols of the Islamic religion and refuses to prejudice all religious figures and symbols,” said the Saudi foreign ministry.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan foreign ministry also issued a statement condemning the remarks and calling on the international community to take note of rising attacks against Muslims in India.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement: Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms, the highly derogatory remarks recently made by two senior officials of India’s ruling party BJP, that disrespect the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). These unacceptable remarks have not only deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of Pakistan but of billions of Muslims around the world.
BJP’s attempted clarification and belated and perfunctory disciplinary action against these individuals cannot assuage the pain and anguish they have caused to the Muslim world. Muslims residing in India are equally outraged by the completely repugnant comments by the two BJP officials. The ensuing communal violence in Kanpur and other parts of India bears testimony to this fact.
Pakistan is also deeply concerned about the alarming rise in communal violence and hatred directed against Muslims in India. Muslims in India are being systematically stigmatized, marginalized, and subjected to a well-orchestrated onslaught from radical Hindu mobs with full connivance and support of the security apparatus across various states in India. Regrettably, the Indian state machinery has remained aloof to the desperate calls for assistance by the local Muslim communities across the country.
The continued grave violations of the rights of minorities in several BJP-ruled states; anti-Muslim legislation by the Union government of India and continued incidents of violence against Muslims on flimsy pretexts by various ‘Hindutva’ groups with complete impunity, and often under state patronage, highlight the worsening trend of Islamophobia and extremism in India. The silence of the top leadership of the BJP is yet another proof that these Hindu zealots have the tacit support of the state machinery in carrying out their nefarious designs of marginalization and dehumanizing of the minorities, especially Muslims.
Reprehensibly, it has become a norm in India to deprive Muslims of their right to live and freely practice their religion. It is deplorable that the BJP-RSS cohort, under the extremist ‘Hindutva’ agenda, has maliciously denigrated and perpetrated senseless violence against Indian Muslims and their places of worship.
Pakistan requires India to ensure that decisive and demonstrable action is taken against those responsible for making derogatory remarks and attacking the dignity of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). India must also take immediate steps to protect its minorities from human rights violations, ensure their safety, security, and well-being and allow them to profess and practice their faiths in peace.
Pakistan once again calls on the international community to take immediate cognizance of the grievously aggravating situation of Islamophobia in India. India must be held accountable for stifling the rights of minorities, especially Muslims to practice their faith and religious beliefs. The international community must dissuade India from its reprehensible campaign of “saffronisation” and ensure that Muslims are not victimized for having different religious beliefs than the majority population. The world must intervene to protect the Muslims in India from an impending genocide at the hands of Hindutva-inspired Hindu zealots, emboldened by the BJP-RSS dispensation at the helm.
The 57-member Organizations of Islamic Conference (OIC) has also condemned the comments and raised concerns about the “systematic” harassment of Muslims in India.
Condemning the comments by the BJP functionaries, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretariat’s statement observed that it had occurred against the backdrop of increasing anti-Muslim activities in India. “These abuses come in the context of the escalation of hatred and abuse of Islam in India and in the context of systematic practices against and harassment of Muslims, particularly in the light of a series of decisions to ban headscarves in educational institutions in several Indian states and demolitions of Muslim property, as well as increased violence against them,” said the statement. The Islamic bloc called on the Indian government to address abuses against the Prophet and to also ensure the safety of India’s Muslim community. “The Secretariat calls on the international community, particularly United Nations mechanisms and special procedures of the Human Rights Council, to take the necessary measures to address practices targeting Muslims in India,” said the OIC statement.
It added that two billion Muslims are guided by the Prophet Mohammed, “whose message came as a message of peace, understanding and tolerance, and a beacon of light that Muslims all over the world follow”.
A day after Maharashtra police booked a Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson for making allegedly objectionable remarks on Prophet Muhammad on television, Hyderabad City Police also registered a case against her following a complaint by MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief tweeted a copy of the FIR against BJP’s Nupur Sharma on Twitter. The FIR accuses Sharma of using “abusive, false and hurtful” words against the Prophet Muhammad and the Islam religion.
She is charged under section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC.
There is a severe wave of anger in the Muslim community around two billion spread all over the world and strong condemnation is being witnessed globally. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Islam teaches us the respect others and co-exists with other religion in harmony.
Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan – Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization). Islamabad, Pakistan.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are only of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinion or position of World Geostrategic Insights).
Image Credit:Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters