ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) recent concerns over a “growing tide of Islamophobia in India” is a significant development, Azad Kashmir President Masood Khan told Arab News in an interview on Tuesday.
On April 26, the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) said in a statement that it was “appalled by the increasing violence against Muslims in many parts of India, especially the latest spate of horrific incidents in New Delhi where homes, mosques and businesses of Muslims were attacked by extremist Hindu mobs resulting into loss of over dozen lives.”
The commission also called on the Indian government to abide by its obligations under international law and its own constitution and put an end to the violence and spread of hatred.
The call came a week after the OIC general secretariat expressed its concerns over “anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobia within political and media circles and on mainstream and social media platforms, where Indian Muslim minority is blamed of spreading the coronavirus in the country.”
According to Khan, the OIC’s recent statements are indicative of a change in how the issue has been perceived by the Muslim, especially Arab, world.
“I think it is a significant development because of the attitude change among the governments of Arab countries and Arab streets have woken up to the ugly reality of Muslims in India,” Khan said, explaining that until recently there was little reaction from the Western and Arab World against New Delhi’s Islamophobia and attempts to portray Muslims as dangerous strangers and now also as spreaders of the coronavirus.
On April 28, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi sent a letter to OIC Secretary-General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen to appraise him of the Indian government’s attempts to put blame on Muslims for the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Indian actions are in contravention of relevant international conventions and seriously undermine global efforts for religious harmony during these challenging times,” Qureshi wrote as he expressed hope that the international community would urge New Delhi “to reverse this course, which is fraught with risks for the safety and security of India’s minorities, particularly Muslims, and for their fundamental rights and freedoms.”
The campaign against Muslims of India wherein they were accused of spreading the virus began in March, after a cluster of COVID-19 cases was connected to a gathering of Muslim missionaries in New Delhi.
Muslims constitute 14 percent of India’s 1.35 billion population.
OIC has 57 member countries with a total population of nearly 1.85 billion people, which makes it the second-largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations (UN).