Kuwait has appealed to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to tackle growing anti-Muslim sentiment in India.

In a statement issued yesterday, General Secretariat of the Kuwait Council of Ministers expressed its “deep concern” regarding Islamophobia in the Hindu-majority country, currently governed under the ruling far-right BJP, and urged the OIC to take “necessary and urgent measures”.

The call for action were similar to those made on Sunday by a minister in Kuwait’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Abdullah Al-Shoreka, who took to Twitter condemning the mistreatment of Muslims in India.

The Council of Ministers of the State of Kuwait condemns the ethnic attacks against Muslims in India

“Did those who commit crimes against humanity against Muslims in India and violate their rights think that Muslims in the world will remain silent about these crimes and do not move politically, legally and economically against them?” he said.

The remarks also follow Emirati Princess Hend Al-Qassimi who last week warned that Islamophobic comments made on social media by Indian expats living in the UAE would not be tolerated.

However, yesterday’s report on Kuwait’s appeal made by Middle East Eye appear to contradict India’s Economic Times, which has today claimed that the government of Kuwait along with other Gulf states Oman, Saudi and Qatar have “rejected attempts to spoil ties with India through ‘foreign sponsored’ social media handles and posts”.

The daily also quoted the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava, who said: “We have seen certain references to India in non-official social media handles in Kuwait. The Government of Kuwait has assured us that they are deeply committed to friendly relations with India. They also do not support any interference in the internal affairs of India.”

In February the Indian capital New Delhi witnessed riots and anti-Muslim mob attacks by Hindu nationalists leading to dozens of deaths of mostly Muslims, which also involved the burning and looting of Muslim-owned businesses and the invasion of some homes belonging to Muslims.

According to the Guardian these were a result of the combined fallout of the passing of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric used by the BJP and its leaders and the revocation of Kashmir’s special status, the only Muslim-majority state in India. India’s Muslims have also been the subject of conspiracy theories circulating in the country, that they are the cause of the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: M E Monitor