AMN / NEW DELHI
New Delhi has strongly deplored the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, these are misinformed and unacceptable. The Ministry advised countries commenting on minorities to look at their record before making any observations about others.
New Delhi reacted after the Grand Ayatollah of Iran took to X and reminded the Muslims about the sufferings of the community in Gaza, Myanmar, and India. “The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identi…
“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,” Khamenei wrote on X on Monday.
New Delhi sought to turn the table on Tehran. “Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their record before making any observations about others.”
Although this is not the first time Iran’s spiritual leader has named India as a place where Muslims are suffering, it is unclear what provoked him to make the latest comment.
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In March 2020, after the north-east Delhi riots sparked criticism, Khamenei had called the riots a “massacre of Muslims” and had called on India to confront “extremist Hindus and their parties” to prevent its “isolation from the world of Islam”.
Khamenei, who has been Iran’s spiritual leader since 1989, had tweeted: “The hearts of Muslims all over the world are grieving over the massacre of Muslims in India. The govt of India should confront extremist Hindus & their parties & stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India’s isolation from the world of Islam.” He had then concluded the tweet with a hashtag: #IndianMuslimslnDanger.
In August 2019, Khamenei had expressed concern over the situation of Muslims in Kashmir, two weeks after the government revoked Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We’re concerned about Muslims’ situation in Kashmir. We have good relations with India, but we expect the Indian government to adopt a just policy towards the noble people of Kashmir and prevent the oppression & bullying of Muslims in this region,” he had tweeted. India had rejected his comments.
Tehran had last criticised India after the 2002 Gujarat riots and, a decade earlier, after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.
While 1992, 2002 and 2020 are moments when Khamenei spoke out on Indian Muslims, he has time and again raised the issue of Kashmir, the last being in August 2019.