The blasphemous statement about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) issued by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has strongly been condemned by Muslim countries all over the world who have termed it a case of Islamophobia.
The two individuals responsible for the Islamphobic remarks, BJP’s national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma and Delhi media operation head Naveen Jindal, have reportedly been fired from their positions.
During a televised debate, Sharma had made some disrespectful remarks about the Prophet (PBUH) and his wife Aisha, which were heavily criticized by social media users.
Responding to the flak she was receiving over the issue, she said she had make those remarks while responding to a comment made about a Hindu god, adding “If my words have caused discomfort or hurt religious feelings of anyone whatsoever, I hereby unconditionally withdraw my statement.”
Jindal on the other hand had had tweeted out the blasphemous content, in a tweet that has since been deleted.
The BJP responded to the criticism by saying “The Bharatiya Janata Party is also strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy.”
The statement also read that the BJP had ‘strongly denounced’ the ‘insult of any religious party or personality’.
Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Cairo and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the behavior and the statement made by the BJP.
Qatar has demanded an apology from the BJP over the matter, saying in a statement “Qatar is expecting a public apology and immediate condemnation of these remarks from the government of India.”
Saudia Arabia, Cairo and the OIC have all issued condemnations over the incident as well.
#Statement | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of the #Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (#BJP), insulting the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. pic.twitter.com/VLQwdXuPuq
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) June 5, 2022
Storm in a teacup. If you think India to be cornered on “this”, then Modi Shah duo has already won the battle of wits. Ms. Sharma was a fattened goat sacrificed to gauge the extent of knee jerk reaction from Islamic leadership within India and abroad. Indian exports to Middle East countries is limited to mangoes, pickles and spices. Although Charlie Hebdo was 100 times more provocative than Ms Sharma’s on screen diatribe, it did not stop oil shipments from Middle East to France and EU.