Muslim world calls for Indian apology over official ‘insult’

INDIA is facing a diplomatic crisis over remarks by government officials about the Prophet Mohammed which have been described as “blasphemous” by critics at home and abroad.

The remarks by two members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have prompted riots in which 38 people were arrested in one northern city.

Two BJP spokesmen, Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal were accused by members of the Muslim community of insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammed and his wife Aisha.

Some of India’s top officials were engaged in managing the diplomatic fallout as nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran demanded an apology from the government for allowing the derogatory remarks, an Indian foreign ministry official said.

India’s foreign ministry stated the offensive tweets and comments did not reflect the views of the government.

The BJP said on Sunday that it had suspended one spokesman and expelled another official for hurting religious sentiments of a minority community.