The National Muslim Conference of Ghana has joined Muslims across the world to call on the Indian government to render an unconditional apology for insulting comments made by the two political figures.
Condemning the remarks, it said the remarks were not isolated effusions of two political figures but rather a reflection of an escalating pattern of hatred that called for violence and sometimes even genocide against Muslims in India.
In a statement issued in Accra yesterday, the group called on the Indian government to take active measures to stem the tide of Islamophobia in the country.
It bemoaned the delay by the government in sanctioning the two individuals, which occurred only after condemning statements were issued by some Islamic countries.
Presently, the statement said there were incessant and incendiary utterances by people in authority which bordered on hate speeches, hostile harassment, and rampant violence against Muslims.
As a nation that was a signatory to most international conventions on the protection of human rights, which protected the rights of freedom of religion, and proscribed discrimination on grounds of ethnic or religious origin, such volatile acts that sought to erode the very foundations of the international community ought not to be countenanced.
The statement said the group was equally concerned about incitements to violence that have assumed alarming proportions in recent times under the current government.
It described as Islamophobic the prohibition of Muslim head coverings in schools and the imposition of Hindu dietary preferences on Muslims
Additionally, the Citizenship Amendment Act, which made faith a basis for granting Indian citizenship, the statement said, were all driven by the Islamophobic attitude and was in blatant violation of their fundamental human rights.
The group also raised concerns about the leverage of a new mass culture dominated by cinema, poetry, and music which were all loaded with inflammatory content and hateful anti-Islam lyrics.
These, the statement said, were purposely designed to politically mobilise the majority of Hindus against Muslims.
“This religious polarisation and well-oiled ecosystem of hate which the current government has nurtured has found frightening expression in the Indian mass media where the overwhelming majority of news outlets have, lock, stock, and barrel, become the echo chambers and cheerleaders of such bigotry,” the statement added.
The statement warned that co-opting the media for the purpose of spreading hatred for political gain was not sustainable and urged the government to address the emerging problem.
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