(WASHINGTON, DC, 6/7/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, today called on leaders of the U.S. Congress to drop plans to honor far-right, anti-Muslim Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a Joint Meeting of Congress during his upcoming U.S. visit in June.
CAIR also supported the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) recommendation that India be designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the Modi government’s human rights abuses of Christians, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, and other faith minorities.
In a letter sent last night, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw wrote:
“We believe asking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a Joint Meeting of Congress sends the message that repressing Christians, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, and other faith minorities is not an issue for the U.S. Congress. Modi’s anti-democratic policies, such as smothering critical journalism, are also the opposite of what the U.S. Congress should be seen as celebrating. If the Joint Meeting occurs, we plan to urge Members to boycott it.
“The evidence of Modi’s expanding effort to place a boot firmly on the collective heads of India’s religious minorities is extensive. CAIR has already noted that under Modi his political allies have banned young Muslim women from wearing hijabs at school, ignored widespread lynchings of Muslims, and censored a BBC documentary about Modi’s role in an anti-Muslim pogrom.”
McCaw’s letter was addressed to the four Congressional leaders who sent the invite letter to Prime Minister Modi: Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senate Republican Leader McConnell, Speaker of the House McCarthy, and House Democratic Leader Jeffries.
“On August 23, 2022, the Congressional Research Service noted, ‘The scope and scale of [human rights] abuses reportedly has increased under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, particularly since their convincing national reelection in 2019.’”
CAIR earlier called on the Biden Administration to cancel a planned state dinner honoring Modi.
SEE: CAIR Calls on White House to Drop Plans to Honor Indian Prime Minister Modi with State Dinner
The U.S. Department of State’s recent Report on International Religious Freedom expressed concern regarding the treatment of Muslims, Christians and other religious minorities in India and highlighted violence by law enforcement and pro-government Hindu nationalists targeting Muslims. A few weeks earlier, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) “2023 Annual Report” again recommended that State designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
This year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rated journalism in India as less free than under Afghanistan’s strict authoritarian regime. RSF reports, “all the mainstream media are now owned by wealthy businessmen close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” RSF adds, “At the same time, Modi has an army of supporters who track down all online reporting regarded as critical of the government and wage horrific harassment campaigns against the sources.”
SEE: Asia – Pacific Sclerotic one-party regimes and media control by oligarchs
BACKGROUND
Hindutva movements are at the core of anti-Muslim, anti-Christian, and anti-minority persecutions in India. They have also stoked hatred between Muslim and Hindu groups in the U.S.
Last week, two Muslim organizations condemned the screening of The Kerala Story, an anti-Muslim Indian film, in American theatres. The film has been widely criticized for its reportedly bigoted depiction of Islam and Muslims.
SEE: CAIR, IAMC Condemn Screening of Anti-Muslim Indian Film in U.S. Theaters
Last year, U.S. groups protested speaking engagements featuring anti-Muslim, anti-Christian Hindu extremist leader Sadhvi Ritambhara. Ritambhara’s hate speeches have been described as “the single most powerful instrument for whipping up anti-Muslim violence” in various Indian states, leading to communal riots and thousands of deaths. Ritambhara is also well known for her anti-Christian hate and bigotry. She has suggested that if Christian missionaries were attempting to convert people in India and that if even a “single Hindu is converted, Christians will be wiped out from the face of India.”
In New Jersey last year, the Indian Business Association (IBA), organized an India Independence Day parade in Edison and Woodbridge which featured a bulldozer, which has become a symbol of anti-Muslim animus in the context of India. Following local condemnations, IBA issued an apology.
In 2005, the State Department denied Modi a visa to visit the U.S due to his persecution of minority faiths in Gujarat, where he served as Chief Minister.
SEE: CAIR Applauds Denial of Visa To Narendra Modi
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com