The United States of America has condemned the derogatory remarks made against the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ by two members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Ned Prince, the official spokesperson of the US State Department speaking to the media said, “Well, this is something that we’ve condemned. We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemns those comments.”
Pertinently, BJP spokesperson (now removed) made insulting remarks against the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ during a news channel Live debate. The remarks sparked a diplomatic row between India and Muslim-majority countries, forcing BJP to take action against the two.
Thousands of Muslims across India took to the streets last Friday to protest the remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and media chief Naveen Jindal. The duo has been removed from their roles.
Protests in India turned violent in several states, with clashes erupting between Hindus and Muslims and protesters and the police. Two Muslim boys were shot dead during protests in Ranchi and many more injured.
Following the protests, hundreds of Muslims were allegedly arrested and tortured in Police custody. Houses of Muslim activists in the northern Uttar Pradesh state were demolished by the state’s right-wing chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s administration.
“We regularly engage with the Indian government at senior levels on human rights concerns including freedom of religion or belief and we encourage India to promote respect for human rights,” Ned Price said in his statement.