Arabs Indians spat over Islamophobia in India

India – Arab relations have always been good with rich culture & strong business ties for a long time.  Last year, United Arab Emirates (UAE) awarded PM Narendra Modi with the highest civilian award. Also, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince visited India in 2019. But it seems to derail its path now. In a new row, a twitter account with Saurabh Upadhyay’s name posted a series of hate tweets against Muslims. He accused Muslims as Coronavirus spreaders and used foul language against Muslims such as ‘Corona Jihad” or “Jihad Custom.” The incident came to light when Princess Hend Al Qassimi replied to him with a strict warning. After that, there were a series of such hate tweets by extremists living on Arab land brought to notice where they were abusing Islam & Muslims of India.

An Arab Scholar, Sheikh Abidi Zahrani, condemned and appealed Gulf states to confront Extremist ideology. Zahrani wrote on his Twitter account, Zahrani shared the “Send_Hindutva_Back_home” hashtag. “I propose to all respected followers to list all militant Hindus who are working in the GCC and spreading hate against #Islam #Muslims or our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) under this #hashtag #Send_Hindutva_Back_home.” The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an Organization of 57 Muslim Countries, also strongly condemned the Hate speech & Hate crimes against Muslims in India. The OIC issued a statement, saying:

“The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expresses deep concern following recent media accounts of rising anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobia within political and media circles and on mainstream and social media platforms, where Indian Muslim minority is blamed for spreading the coronavirus in the country.”

      In a tweet on Monday, the Indian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pavan Kapoor, said: “India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on many grounds. Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE should always remember this.” Although there has been no official statement from Saudi Arabia or UAE, experts believe that the condemnation by Royal family member or A Scholar is not possible without the approval from their respective governments.

          On Sunday, the controversy got stretched when the Council of Cabinet Ministers of the State of Kuwait released a press note which condemned the attacks on Muslims in India. Also, urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) & International bodies to intervene in the matter. On the other side, while sensing the gravity of the situations, the Foreign Minister of India S. Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally spoke to their counterparts in the Gulf States. India wants to maintain good relations with all Gulf States as India has significant Cultural and Business ties with all GCC Countries. While Mr Modi is tackling the situation with the Gulf States, the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom downgrades India as Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for assaulting minorities in the latest 2020 report. This will further escalate the tensions for India as Gulf states such as  Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE) already registered their dissent over the attacks on Muslims (Minorities) in India. Thus, this series of international disagreement over the persecution of minorities in India is no longer remain India’s internal matter. It is the need of an hour for PM Narendra Modi to control the extremism in India.

          While India is already facing an economic crisis, it cannot afford another hit on the economy as millions of Indians are working in the Gulf States who brings more than a Hundred Billion Dollar to India annually. If the bohemia between India & Gulf States gets affected, it can further escalate to many problems for India. In this time, PM Narendra Modi needs to curb the hate crimes against Muslims in India, which will also strengthen the country to fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. There have been sizeable socio-economical damage to Indian Muslims due to rising Islamophobia in India, which can be stopped immediately.

          The Muslims of India are an integral part of India. And, it is a need of an hour for India to focus on issues affecting the whole countrymen such as – Unemployment, Poverty & Economic Slowdown.