IEA joins Muslim nations in slamming India over insulting remarks about Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Monday joined the list of Islamic countries that have condemned India for the insulting remarks by two officials against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Bharatiya Janat Party’s (BJP) national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma was suspended from the party on Sunday for comments made in a recent TV debate, while the BJP’s Delhi media operations head Naveen Kumar Jindal was also expelled for reportedly posting a tweet about Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) that also angered many people.

An international diplomatic storm has since engulfed India’s ruling party – the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Monday, the IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement and said: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns the use of derogatory words against the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) by an official of the ruling party in India.

“We urge the Indian government not to allow such fanatics to insult the Holy religion of Islam and provoke the feelings of Muslims.”

The OIC has also condemned the comments and called “on the Indian authorities to decisively address these incidents of defamation and all forms of insult to the noble Prophet (PBUH) and Islam and to bring those who incite and perpetrate violence against Muslims to justice and hold those behind them accountable.”

The official spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, meanwhile said in a statement that “strong action has already been taken against these individuals by relevant bodies” and that it was “regrettable that OIC Secretariat has yet again chosen to make motivated, misleading and mischievous comments”.

According to the Indian Embassy in Doha, the views expressed against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Islam were not views of the Indian government but opinions made by “fringe elements”.

Statements by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the GCC and the IEA follow statements already issued by the governments of Qatar, Kuwait and Iran, the latter having summoned Indian ambassadors to their respective countries and delivering diplomatic notes of protest.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, insulting Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and reaffirms its permanent rejection of prejudice against all the symbols of the Islamic religion,” said the Saudi government in a statement.

Welcoming the decision by the BJP to suspend Sharma, Riyadh said it reiterated the Kingdom’s position calling for “respect for beliefs and religions”.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, meanwhile, stressed the “need to denounce any reprehensible insults against the Messenger of God Mohammad (PBUH) as a provocation to Muslims’ feelings and incitement to religious hatred.”

Bahrain also called for “concerted efforts of the international community to spread the values of moderation, tolerance and dialogue between religions and civilizations, and to confront extremist ideas that feed sedition and religious, sectarian or racial hatred.”