-Says blasphemous remarks have caused strong dissatisfaction among Indian Muslims and Islamic countries
-Suggests different civilizations, religions should respect each other and live on an equal footing
BEIJING: A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Monday hoped that India would properly resolve the relevant situation emerged as a result of BJP leaders’ blasphemous remarks causing strong dissatisfaction among Indian Muslims and Islamic countries.
“We have noted relevant reports and hope that the relevant situation can be properly resolved,” Wang Wenbin said during his regular briefing here while commenting on Bhartia Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s remarks about the Prophet Muhammad PBUH which caused strong dissatisfaction among Indian Muslims and Islamic countries.
The Muslims countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Oman, Indonesia, Iraq, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Jordan, Libya and Bahrain have condemned the remarks.
Many Muslim countries foreign offices also summoned the Indian envoys to register their protest besides issuing strongly worded statements.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also issued a strongly worded statement against blasphemous remarks by Indian leaders.
Wang Wenbin said that China had always maintained that different civilizations and different religions should respect each other and live on an equal footing.
“We should abandon arrogance and prejudice, deepen our understanding of the differences between our own civilization and other civilizations, and promote exchanges, dialogue and harmonious coexistence among different civilizations,” he added.
In a statement, Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law said that massive Muslim demonstrations across India, demanding arrest and punishment of the two members of BJP for using blasphemous remarks reflected not only the aspirations of the vast Muslim community in India, but also the aspirations of the entire Muslim world, and the Indian authorities, which have always advocated democracy, should respond positively. However, the Indian authorities have resorted to brutal measures against the unarmed protesting Muslims and used the security forces to suppress them.
The international community should pay close attention to the atrocities committed by the Indian authorities and strongly condemn the disproportional use of security forces on Indian Muslim protestors, he added.
He said that India should immediately shun its Hindutva policies and stop targeting its minorities, hurting their religious sentiments and put an end to rising incidents of violence and spreading of hate against Indian minorities, especially Muslims. Otherwise, the worsening ethnic contradictions and religious conflicts in India will lead to the final division of the country, he added.
Nupur Sharma made some controversial remarks in a televised debate last month and another party official, Naveen Kumar Jindal, who was media head of the party’s Delhi unit, had also posted a provocative tweet on the issue. –Agencies
