Kuwait supermarket pulls Indian products as row grows over Prophet remarks

Kuwait supermarket pulls Indian products as row grows over Prophet remarks A Kuwaiti supermarket pulled Indian products from its shelves and Iran became the latest Middle Eastern country to summon the Indian ambassador as a row grew on Monday over a ruling party oficials remarks about the Prophet MohammedWorkers at the AlArdiya CoOperative Society store piled Indian tea and other products into trolleys in a protest against comments denounced as Islamophobic Saudi Arabia Qatar and other countries in the region as well as the influential AlAzhar University in Cairo have condemned the remarks by a spokeswoman for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis party who has since been suspendedAt the supermarket just outside Kuwait City sacks of rice and shelves of spices and chilies were covered with plastic sheets Printed signs in Arabic read We have removed Indian products We as a Kuwaiti Muslim people do not accept insulting the Prophet Nasser AlMutairi CEO of the store told AFP An oficial at the chain said a companywide boycott was being considered Comments by Bharatiya Janata Party spokeswoman Nupur Sharma describing the prophet Mohammeds relationship with his youngest wife have sparked furore among MuslimsSharmas remarks during a televised debate last week were blamed for clashes in an Indian state and prompted demands for her arrest Anger spread overseas to Muslim countries about the remarks Modis party which has frequently been accused of acting against the countrys Muslim minority on Sunday suspended Sharma for expressing views contrary to the partys position and said it respects all religionsSharma said on Twitter that her comments had been in response to insults made against the Hindu god Shiva If my words have caused discomfort or hurt religious feelings of anyone whatsoever I hereby unconditionally withdraw my statement she said Incitement to religious hatred On Sunday Qatar demanded that India apologise for the Islamophobic comments as Indias VicePresident Venkaiah Naidu visited the gasrich Gulf state in a bid to bolster trade Iran followed Qatar and Kuwait by summoning the Indian ambassador to protest in the name of the government and the people state news agency IRNA said late on SundayAlso Read Mumbai Police to summon Nupur Sharma and record her statement over controversial remarks against Prophet CP Sanjay PandeyAlAzhar University one of Islams most important institutions said the comments were the real terrorism and could plunge the entire world into deadly crisis and wars The Saudibased Muslim World League said the remarks could incite hatred while Saudi Arabias General Presidency of the Afairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophets Mosque called them a heinous act The row follows anger across the Muslim world in 2020 afer French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of a satirical magazine to publish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in October 2020 by a Chechen refugee afer showing the cartoons to his class in a lesson on free speechImages of the Prophet are strictly forbidden in Islam In further criticism of the Indian oficial the Gulf Cooperation Council an umbrella group for the six Gulf countries condemned rejected and denounced her comments Bahrain also welcomed the BJPs decision to suspend Sharma over provocation to Muslims feelings and incitement to religious hatred Gulf countries are a major destination for Indias overseas workers accounting for 87 million out of a worldwide total of 135 million Indian foreign ministry figures showThey are also big importers of produce from India and elsewhere with Kuwait importing 95 percent of its food according to the trade minister Kuwaiti media have reported that the government asked New Delhi for an exemption from Indias surprise ban on wheat exports over food security and inflation worriesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever