Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments on Indian Muslims’ suffering perturb Modi regime
New Delhi: Perturbed by recent comments from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei regarding the plight of Indian Muslims, the BJP-led Indian government has issued a strong condemnation, describing the remarks as unacceptable.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made these remarks during an address to Islamic scholars in Tehran to mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In his speech, Khamenei noted the existence of an Islamic universal brotherhood and suggested that this should make Muslims more aware of the hardships faced by others. The speech in Farsi was uploaded on his official website, and then an excerpt was posted on his X account.
“The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah. We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in Myanmar, Gaza, India, or any other place,” stated the X post.
In response, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a strong rebuke, saying, “We strongly deplore the comments made by the Supreme Leader of Iran regarding minorities in India. These remarks are misinformed and unacceptable.” “Countries making comments about minorities should examine their own records before passing judgment on others”, he added.
This is not the first instance of Ayatollah Khamenei addressing the situation of Muslims in India. In March 2020, following the anti-Muslim riots in Delhi, Khamenei described the violence as a “massacre of Muslims” and urged India to address the actions of “extremist Hindus and their parties” to prevent isolation from the Muslim world. Khamenei has also previously expressed concerns over the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019 and has criticized India for past events such as the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.
