Indonesia, UAE, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Libya join outrage against BJP leaders’ derogatory remarks on Prophet

The Indian government on Monday fought to defuse anger in various countries and opposition attacks at home over comments on Prophet Muhammad by two BJP leaders, of whom one was expelled and the other suspended.

Top officials tried to manage the diplomatic fallout as nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Iran, Jordan, Afghanistan, Bahrain and Indonesia demanded an apology from the government for allowing the derogatory remarks.

The United Arab Emirates became the latest country to voice its condemnation of the remarks, saying they were "contrary to moral and humanitarian values and principles."

The UAE's foreign ministry underlined the "need for respecting religious symbols... and countering hate speech", state news agency WAM reported.

The Indonesian Ministry of External Affairs tweeted: 'Indonesia strongly condemns unacceptable derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad PBUH by two Indian politicians. This message has been conveyed to Indian Ambassador in Jakarta.'

Libya too joined the list of nations which has taken umbrage at the derogatory statements made against the Prophet, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation posted a tweet from its official handle.

The United Arab Emirates condemned statements by the BJP spokespersons, expressing its denunciation and rejection of insults of the Prophet Muhammad. It further underscored the need to respect religious symbols and not violate them, as well as confront hate speech and violence.

In other developments on Monday, a Kuwaiti supermarket pulled Indian products from its shelves and Iran became the latest Middle Eastern country to summon the Indian ambassador. Workers at the Al-Ardiya Co-Operative Society store piled Indian tea and other products into trolleys in a protest against comments denounced as "Islamophobic".

In domestic developments, the Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) said it will hold protests in Bareilly and across the country on June 10 if no action was initiated against suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said action against suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad should have been taken 10 days ago. He said he had sought action against the spokesperson while addressing a public meeting at Bhiwandi.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police commissioner Sanjay Pandey on Monday said that they would soon be sending summons to the suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma asking her to appear before them to record her statement for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammed during a television news debate recently.