The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has voiced serious concerns over the “continued attacks on Muslims in India” and called upon the international community, including the United Nations, to take steps to stop “hate crimes” against the minority community.
The General Secretariat of the OIC expressed deep concern over recent public calls for genocide of Muslims by the ‘Hindutva’ proponents in Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand and reported incidents of harassment of Muslim women on social media sites as well as banning of Muslim students from wearing hijab in Karnataka, read an official statement.
The continued attacks targeting Muslims and their places of worship, the recent trend of anti-Muslim legislation in different Indian states and rising incidents of violence against Muslims on flimsy pretexts by ‘Hindutva’ groups with impunity, are indicative of the growing trend of Islamophobia, it added.
The OIC General Secretariat called upon the international community, especially the UN mechanisms and Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, to take necessary measures in this regard.
The OIC General Secretariat also urged India to ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of the Muslim community while protecting the way of life of its members and to bring the instigators and perpetrators of acts of violence and hate crimes against them to justice.
Calls across India for anti-Muslim violence – even genocide – are moving from the fringes to the mainstream, while Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and his top leaders keep silent, warned a recent report published in The New York Times.
“The hate speech is stoking communal tensions in India where small triggers have incited mass-death tragedies,” the report written by a team of Times’ reporters said, pointing out that Hindu monks’ agenda already resonates with increasingly emboldened vigilante groups.
Meanwhile, India strongly condemned comments made by the OIC on the Hijab row in Karnataka.
In a sharply worded statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said: “The communal mindset of the OIC Secretariat does not allow for a proper appreciation of these realities. OIC continues to be hijacked by vested interests to further their nefarious propaganda against India,”
“As a result, it has only harmed its own reputation,” India said in the statement.
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