OIC rights body concerned over ‘growing tide of Islamophobia in India’

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) consists of 57 member states and is an important forum of Muslim countries. (AFP/File)

• Condemns campaigns blaming Muslims for the spread of COVID-19 in the country
• Religious divide widened in India after virus cluster emerged in Muslim missionary group last month

ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s human rights body on Sunday expressed deep concern over what it called the “growing tide of Islamophobia in India,” and in a series of tweets, called for an end to the “persecution of Muslims” in the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.
After a cluster of COVID-19 cases emerged at a gathering of Muslim missionaries in New Delhi last month, the disease has inflamed already festering divisions between the country’s Hindus and its 200 million strong Muslim minority.
Violent attacks on Muslims have been reported around the country amid sensational news coverage of the missionary event, and with some Hindu nationalist politicians encouraging the trending topic “Coronajihad” on social media.
“OIC-IPHRC urges the Indian Govt to take urgent steps to stop the growing tide of Islamophobia in India and protect the rights of its persecuted Muslim minority as per its obligations under intl HR law,” the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission said on its official Twitter page.
In a separate tweet, the rights body said it condemned campaigns blaming Muslims for the spread of COVID-19 in India as well as their negative profiling in the media which led to persecution.
The latest spate of violence comes after months of protests against a new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims.
In a sign of damage control, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for “unity and brotherhood” in the country’s response toward coronavirus. “COVID-19 does not see race, religion, color, caste, creed, language or borders before striking,” the Indian premier said in a tweet.
“Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood. We are in this together,” Modi added.
Physical and verbal attacks on India’s minority Muslim community started after police and the government singled out a religious congregation held in New Delhi by an Islamic missionary organization, Tablighi Jamaat, in mid-March as being responsible for the spread of coronavirus across the country.
Muslims were suddenly perceived to be virus carriers and found their business boycotted in many parts of the country with derogatory and discriminatory hashtags making rounds on social media.