The Indian government made some conciliatory statements after a spokeswoman for the ruling BJP party made televised comments seen as critical of Islam’s Muhammad two weeks ago, but as condemnation from Muslim nations and demands for additional acts of contrition keep pouring in, the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing back against its critics.
The controversy, described in detail here, boils down to BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma mentioning that Muhammad “married a six-year-old girl and had sex with her when she turned nine.” Muslims do not generally welcome non-Muslims quoting this particular passage from the Quran, especially when they use a disapproving tone.
BJP suspended Sharma for six years and fired a media director associated with her controversial television appearance, but the Muslim minority in India was not satisfied — many of them want Sharma arrested for blasphemy.
The Mumbai police might be ready to oblige them, as Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey told reporters on Monday that Sharma will be summoned to give a formal statement. The police also said Sharma has reported several threats against her life, so she has been granted a protective detail.
Muslim activists shout slogans in reaction to the remarks of suspended BJP leader and spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad during a protest at Bhendi Bazar, on June 6, 2022, in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
The Indian government seemed willing to take some criticism from the Gulf Arab states and even Iran without responding but pushed back after aggressive statements from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and India’s unfriendly neighbor, Pakistan.
The OIC expressed “strong condemnation and denunciation of the recent insults issued by an official in the ruling party” of India.
“These abuses come in the context of the escalation of hatred and abuse of Islam in India and in the context of the systematic practices against Muslims and restrictions on them, especially in light of a series of decisions banning headscarves in educational institutions in a number of Indian states and demolitions of Muslim property, in addition to the increase in violence against them,” the OIC said.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday “categorically rejected” the “unwarranted and narrow-minded comments” of the OIC.
“The offensive tweets and comments denigrating a religious personality were made by certain individuals. They do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. Strong action has already been taken against these individuals by relevant bodies,” ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.
Bagchi accused the OIC of making “motivated, misleading and mischievous comments” that exposed a “divisive agenda being pursued at the behest of vested interests.”
Pakistan summoned India’s charge d’affaires to express Islamabad’s “categorical rejection and strong condemnation of the highly derogatory remarks made by two senior officials of India’s ruling party BJP about the Holy Prophet Muhammad.”
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Sunday said Sharma’s remarks were “totally unacceptable and have not only deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of Pakistan but of Muslims across the world.”
Pakistan dismissed India’s statements on the affair as inadequate and suggested the violent reaction from some Indian Muslims was understandable:
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 in other parts of India bears testimony to this fact.
After denouncing Indian discrimination against its Muslim minority at length, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry called for “decisive and demonstrable action” against “those responsible for making derogatory remarks and attacking the dignity of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.” The statement did not specify what action beyond suspending Sharma and firing Jindal would be sufficient.
The Pakistani statement concluded by demanding international action against India:
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 the minorities especially Muslims to practice their faith and religious beliefs. The international community must dissuade India from its reprehensible campaign of “saffronization” 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.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who seemingly hoped to build a better relationship with India as recently as last week, also called on the world to “severely reprimand India.”
“Our love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is supreme. All Muslims can sacrifice their life for the Love & Respect of their Holy Prophet (PBUH),” Sharif said, using the abbreviation for “peace be upon him,” a traditional honorific used by Muslims when referring to Muhammad.
Bagchi, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman, struck back at Pakistan on Monday in heated terms.
“The absurdity of a serial violator of minority rights commenting on the treatment of minorities in another nation is not lost on anyone,” he said. “The world has been witness to the systemic persecution of minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Ahmadiyyas by Pakistan.”
“The government of India accords the highest respect to all religions. This is quite unlike Pakistan, where fanatics are eulogized and monuments built in their honor,” he said.