- Indonesia summons India’s envoy in Jakarta over disparaging remarks made about Prophet Muhammed.
- Spokesman for Indonesia’s foreign ministry confirmed that India’s ambassador Manoj Kumar Bharti was summoned.
- The action comes amid outrage in the Arab and Muslim world over anti-Muslim remarks.
The foreign ministry of Indonesia has summoned India’s envoy in Jakarta over disparaging remarks made about the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) by two leaders of the ruling party in the South Asian country, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
The action by the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country came amid outrage in the Arab and Muslim world, with several Middle Eastern countries summoning New Delhi’s embassy and a Kuwaiti retailer banning Indian products.
The uproar was prompted by comments made by a spokeswoman for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has now been banned.
Last week, another official, the party’s Delhi media chief, sent a tweet about the Prophet, which was afterwards deleted.
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah confirmed to AFP that India’s ambassador in Jakarta, Manoj Kumar Bharti, was summoned for a meeting on Monday, during which the government made a complaint over anti-Muslim remarks.
Indonesia “strongly condemns inappropriate disrespectful remarks” made by “two Indian lawmakers” against the Prophet Muhammed, according to a statement released on Twitter Monday (PBUH).
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According to Indian media reports, the tweet did not specify the officials by name, but it was an apparent reference to BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma and Delhi media leader Naveen Jindal, who was removed from the party.
Modi’s party, which has been accused of discriminating against the country’s Muslim minority, suspended Sharma on Sunday for expressing “comments opposed to the party’s stand” and for refusing to resign.
However, the remarks, which provoked demonstrations among Indian Muslims, sparked a new backlash within Indonesia’s Muslim minority.
Sharma’s comments were “irresponsible, disrespectful, and caused inconvenience and damaged the sensibilities of Muslims globally,” according to Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, senior executive of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
He further claimed that the remarks were in violation of a United Nations resolution passed in March to condemn Islamophobia.
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