Islamophobia in India: OIC

• 20 Apr 2020

Why in News

Recently, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has criticised the Indian government for what it called “growing Islamophobia” in India.

Key Points

• OIC asked the government to take steps to protect Muslim minorities who are being “negatively profiled,” facing “discrimination and violence” amidst the Covid-19 crisis.
• OIC urged the government to protect the rights of its minority as per its obligations under international Human Rights law.
• It also asked the government to take urgent steps to stop the growing tide of Islamophobia (dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims) in India.
  
  • A religious gathering of muslims (Tablighi Jamaat) was held in Delhi in March. The event was linked to many of the Covid-19 positive cases in India.
  • After this most sections of the media, people on social media blamed the Tablighi jamaat and muslims for deliberately spreading the Covid-19 in India.
• Earlier, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has also criticised India of “increased stigmatisation” of its muslim minorities.
  
  • It criticized the government for the reports that Covid-19 patients were religiously segregated at a hospital in Ahmedabad.
  • According to USCIRF, India continues to remain a “tier 2 country of particular concern” since 2009.
  • Tier 2 countries are those in which “violations engaged in or tolerated by the government are serious and characterized by at least one of the elements of the ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious” Country of Particular Concern (CPC) standard. CPCs are designated by the US State Department.
• The Indian government has denied all the allegations levelled by the USCIRF and accused the USCIRF for spreading misguided reports on the professional medical protocols followed to deal with spread of Covid-19 in India.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

• The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states.
• It is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.
• It was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on the 25^th of September 1969.
• Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

OIC and India

• India is not a member of the OIC. However, India was invited as a guest of honour at the 46^th Session of the Council of Foreign Minister in 2019. 2019 is the 50^th anniversary of OIC.
  
  • This marked a high point in New Delhi’s often tensed relations with the OIC.
• However, in recent months, the OIC has repeatedly criticised the Indian government’s handling of the situation in Kashmir and attacks on Muslims.
  
  • The external affairs ministry has rejected this criticism.

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)

• USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad.
• USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress.
• It is Headquartered at Washington DC.

Source: TH