(WASHINGTON D.C., 6/6/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the response of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and its member states to recent comments by officials in India’s ruling BJP insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and called on the OIC to take similarly unified action against the persecution of Muslims worldwide.
Last week, the national spokesperson for India’s far-right BJP Nupur Sharma made derogatory comments targeting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Following backlash from Indian Muslims, the head of the BJP’s Delhi media operation Naveen Jindal took to Twitter to make similar comments.
In response, several Muslim nations, including Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Pakistan condemned the Indian government and demanded they apologize for the comments. On Sunday, the OIC released a statement condemning the Indian government. Following diplomatic backlash, the BJP suspended both Sharma and Jindal. India’s foreign ministry said in a statement the offensive tweets and comments did not, in any way, reflect the views of the government.
SEE: India: Diplomatic storm over BJP staff insult of Prophet Muhammad
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/5/bjp-suspends-spokespersons-who-insulted-prophet-muhammad
India rushes to quell outrage after insulting remarks on Islam
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We commend the Muslim nations and international organizations that speak out against the latest hateful, Islamophobic words comments made by India’s far-right, authoritarian ruling party. The Indian government’s backtracking demonstrates just how powerful the Muslim world can be when it stands united.
“This global response is precisely the kind of unified action needed to end the genocides against Muslims in China and Myanmar, the escalating persecution of Muslims in India and Kashmir, discrimination against Muslims in France, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. “
“We urge Muslim nations to use the same unity they harnessed when defending the honor of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to defend Muslims from violent persecution.”
He noted that last week, CAIR welcomed the State Department’s newly released 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom and praised Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain’s accompanying remarks condemning the genocide of Muslims in China and Burma and the rise in attacks targeting religious minorities and their houses of worship in India.
SEE: CAIR Welcomes U.S. Report on International Religious Freedom, Calls on Biden Admin. to Take Action Against Violators
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 Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com
