India has been forced into diplomatic firefighting as remarks made by two BJP leaders against Prophet Muhammad have sparked outrage in several Arab capitals. On Sunday, the governments of Qatar, Kuwait and Iran summoned India’s envoys and expressed their anger, even handing over diplomatic notes of protest and demanding a public apology from the Indian government. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also condemned the remarks. In response, New Delhi said the comments were made by “fringe elements” and didn’t reflect the views of the government of India.
The comments were made by the BJP’s national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma on the TV news channel Times Now on May 26 and echoed by the party’s media head in Delhi Naveen Jindal on Twitter on June 1. Indian Muslims outraged by the remarks demanded action against them, to no avail. But once the foreign governments took note, the BJP suspended Nupur and expelled Naveen.
