MUMBAI: Leaders of prominent Islamic groups and mosques in India appealed to fellow Muslims on Monday to suspend plans for protests against derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) made by two members of the ruling Hindu-nationalist party.
The message to avoid big gatherings was circulated after demonstrations took a violent turn last week, leading to the death of two Muslim teenagers and the wounding of more than 30 people, including police.
“It is the duty of every Muslim to stand together when anyone belittles Islam but at the same time it is critical to maintain peace,” said Malik Aslam, a senior member of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a Muslim organization that operates in several Indian states.
Early this month, two senior members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made remarks that offended Muslims. A party spokeswoman made the offending comment in a television debate and a party spokesman on social media.
The party suspended both of them and said it denounced any insult toward any religion, and police have also filed cases against the two, but that did not stop enraged Muslims taking to the streets in protest.
Police arrested at least 400 suspected rioters during unrest in several states and curfews were imposed and Internet services were suspended in some places.
Many Muslims in India have been questioning their place in society since Modi came to power in 2014, playing down his roots in a powerful Hindu-nationalist group to which his party is affiliated.
Critics say his BJP has pursued a confrontational line, promoting the idea that India is a Hindu nation and rounded on “anti-national” opponents, which many Muslims see as an attempt to marginalize them, a community that makes up 13 percent of India’s billion plus population.
Authorities in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday demolished the home of a Muslim man linked to the riots, drawing condemnation of the state government, led by the BJP, from constitutional experts and rights groups.
Muslims and rights groups interpreted the destruction of the house as punishment for the riots but state authorities said it was because it was illegally built on public land.
“We are not demolishing houses to stop Muslims from protesting as they have all the right to take to the streets,” an aide to the state’s hard-line Hindu leader told Reuters.
Modi has not commented on the anti-Islam remarks that sparked the protests even as condemnation grew abroad.
Countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Iran, important trade partners for India, have lodged diplomatic protests.
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Indian Muslim groups urge followers to shun protests over anti-Islam comments
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Indian Muslim groups urge followers to shun protests over anti-Islam comments
- Muslims in India have been questioning their place in society since Modi came to power in 2014
- Indian authorities demolished the home of a Muslim man, drawing criticism from rights activists
Woman, boy drown off Greece after migrant boat sinks
ATHENS: A boat carrying over 50 migrants sank off the Greek coast, killing a woman and a boy and leaving three others missing, the coast guard said Sunday.
“Fifty migrants have been rescued and are being cared for by the authorities,” after the accident off the island of Ikria in the northern Aegean Sea, a spokeswoman said.
“A rescue operation with a coast guard vessel is underway, and a team of rescuers and divers is expected later today,” she said.
Strong winds were hampering rescue efforts, according to public broadcaster ERT.
Ikaria lies close to Turkiye’s western coast, a frequent setoff point for migrants trying to enter the European Union.
Many migrants also take the much longer route from Libya to Crete in southern Greece.
The perilous crossings are often fatal. In early December, 17 people were found dead after their boat sank off Crete and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN refugee agency 107 people died or went missing in 2025 off the Greek coast. The International Organization for Migration says about 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.
“Fifty migrants have been rescued and are being cared for by the authorities,” after the accident off the island of Ikria in the northern Aegean Sea, a spokeswoman said.
“A rescue operation with a coast guard vessel is underway, and a team of rescuers and divers is expected later today,” she said.
Strong winds were hampering rescue efforts, according to public broadcaster ERT.
Ikaria lies close to Turkiye’s western coast, a frequent setoff point for migrants trying to enter the European Union.
Many migrants also take the much longer route from Libya to Crete in southern Greece.
The perilous crossings are often fatal. In early December, 17 people were found dead after their boat sank off Crete and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN refugee agency 107 people died or went missing in 2025 off the Greek coast. The International Organization for Migration says about 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.
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