- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 13:23

Muslim groups concerned over Modi’s visit

MUSLIM groups in Trinidad and Tobago are calling on the government to address the issue of Muslim discrimination and prejudice in India with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visits this country on July 3 and 4. In a release on July 2, the Islamic Da’wah Movement said in India, there are 200 million Muslims, who have often faced discrimination, prejudice, and violence, despite constitutional protections, since India’s independence. “Experts say anti-Muslim sentiments have heightened under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP government has pushed controversial policies that critics say explicitly ignore Muslims’ rights, restrict religious freedoms, and are intended to disenfranchise millions of Muslims.” It said the UN human rights office described India’s Citizenship Amendment Act as “fundamentally discriminatory.” Human rights groups say that this act is discriminatory because it excludes Muslims and applies a religious criterion for the first time to the question of citizenship. It said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a group of 57 member states, called on India to curb the “growing spate of hatred and defamation of Islam” and “systematic practices against Indian Muslims.” The Islamic Da’wah Movement said it was calling on the UNC government to address these issues with the visiting prime minister. “Our National Anthem says ‘every creed and race find an equal place’ in our lovely twin-island Republic – a value we need to persuade others to adopt. If Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar addresses this burning issue of Muslim discrimination with PM Modi, she can earn the respect of the Muslim population of TT.” Meanwhile, the president of the Islamic Missionaries Guild, Imtiaz Mohammed, said the group, along with Concerned Muslims of TT, of which he is the PRO, denounced the actions of PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar in inviting Modi to the island and giving him the nation’s highest honour. “We think that Mr Modi is not deserving of both of these privileges that he is going to be enjoying on the 3rd and 4th of this month. This is because, if you look at his records in the past, you would have seen that Mr Modi has been promoting hate speech against Muslims, and Muslims in India specifically. “Also he has encouraged, through many of his campaign meetings, to his audience and supporters, that Muslims are not deserving of an equal space in India. As a matter of fact, in one of his meetings, he referred to them as infiltrators and experts also have come to the conclusion that he promotes violence against the Muslim community. We have seen all of this playing off on the international media. “I think he uses a lot of language that will cause Islamophobia as well among the population in India, and his visit to TT is one that Muslims in TT do not agree with, and also don’t think he is deserving of any state visit or being given the ORTT award.” Mohammed said while he understood India is a world economic powerhouse with whom TT had close ties because of indentureship and culture, TT should hold to its multi-cultural values. “We must hold our values at a high standard and we must say it as it is sometimes to these world leaders of these major countries who have very powerful economic say in the world. “Other Caribbean countries as we see, Guyana, Barbados, Dominica gave him the highest award of their countries, but it doesn’t mean that we have to do the same. I think in our view, this is a big mistake and an error on the part of the PM and the Cabinet to have taken this stance.” On July 1, ASJA said in a statement that it had measured yet profound reservations over Modi’s visit to TT, “in light of extensive and credible international concerns about his administration’s treatment of Muslim minorities.” “While ASJA respects the right of sovereign nations to pursue diplomatic engagement, we believe it is necessary to critically examine Mr Modi’s political legacy, which includes the 2002 Gujarat riots, the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act, the revocation of Kashmir’s special constitutional status, and the symbolic inauguration of a temple on the site of the demolished Babri Masjid.” The post Muslim groups concerned over Modi’s visit appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.