The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today joined the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in calling on the U.S. government to levy sanctions against members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian far-right Hindutva militia guilty of persecuting Muslims, Christians and other religious minorities.
RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to visit the U.S. later this month.
USCIRF Chair Dr. Asif Mahmood noted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member of the RSS, describing it as an Indian umbrella organization whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims.
The agency’s commissioner Gene Mills urged Washington to withhold high-level engagements, stating that RSS leaders should not be honored with diplomatic courtesies and that US authorities should instead focus on imposing sanctions on members responsible for religious freedom violations.
SEE: US religious freedom panel seeks action against RSS members ahead of chief’s visit – TRT World
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said:
“The RSS has been enabled by India’s far-right Hindutva government to persecute Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other minorities. USCIRF is absolutely correct that this dangerous organization and its members must be condemned and sanctioned by the U.S. government.”
CAIR has previously welcomed calls by the USCIRF to sanction the RSS.
CAIR has also previously called on the State Department to designate India a “country of particular concern” due to its persecution of religious minorities.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]