Backlash Against India After A Ruling Party Official Made Islamophobic Comments

International backlash is growing against India after a ruling party official made Islamophobic comments during a televised debate, with Qatar and several other Muslim nations lodging official protests against New Delhi and demanding a “public apology”.

At least five Arab nations have lodged official protests against India, and Pakistan and Afghanistan also reacted strongly on Monday to the comments made by two members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a tweet, Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah al-Khater said: “The Islamophobic discourse has reached dangerous levels in a country long known for its diversity and coexistence. Unless officially and systemically confronted, the systemic hate speech targeting Islam in India will be considered a deliberate insult against two billion Muslims.”

Kuwait warned that if the comments against Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam go unpunished, India would see “an increase of extremism and hatred”.

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 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”.

India’s foreign ministry on Monday rejected comments by the OIC as “unwarranted” and “narrow-minded”.

The anti-Islam remarks also led to anger in India’s archrival and neighbour Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

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 Taliban government in Afghanistan said India should not allow “such fanatics to insult … Islam and provoke the feelings of Muslims”.

The controversial remarks follow increasing violence targeting India’s Muslim minority carried out by Hindu nationalists who have been emboldened by Modi’s regular silence about such attacks since he was first elected in 2014.

Over the years, Indian Muslims have often been targeted for everything from their food and clothing style to inter-religious marriages. Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned that attacks could escalate.

They have also accused Modi’s governing party of looking the other way and sometimes enabling hate speech against Muslims, who comprise 14 percent of India’s 1.4 billion people but are still numerous enough to be the second-largest Muslim population of any nation.

Modi’s party denies the accusations, but India’s Muslims say attacks against them and their faith have increased sharply.