The Indian Foreign Ministry has reacted strongly to the remarks of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the Muslims of India.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs has said that countries making statements on minorities should look at their own record before expressing their opinion about others.
On September 16, Khamenei included India along with Gaza and Myanmar in the list of "where Muslims are facing bad conditions."
However, this is not the first time that Iran's supreme leader has made such a statement for India.
In the year 2020, when riots broke out in India's capital Delhi, Khamenei had also demanded from India to stop the "genocide of Muslims".
Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei met Sunni scholars on Monday on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.
According to the news of the country's official news agency IRNA, during the meeting Khamenei also emphasized that Muslims should not be indifferent to the suffering of other people of their community in any part of the world including Gaza because this is against Islamic teachings.
He also said that the dignity of the Islamic community can be achieved only through unity.
He also emphasized that today it is an important duty to support the oppressed people of Gaza and Palestine. Anyone who ignores this duty will be held accountable before God.
"The concept of an 'Islamic Ummah' must never be forgotten," he said, speaking for unity between the Shia and Sunni sects of Islam on the occasion of the Islamic Unity Week, when he met with leaders of Iran's Sunni community, and praised their contribution to Iranian society.
But when Khamenei posted the same thing on X, he also mentioned India along with Myanmar and Gaza.
He wrote, . We cannot consider ourselves Muslims if we are unaware of the suffering faced by Muslims in Myanmar, Gaza, India or anywhere else."
Notably, Khamenei's remarks came on the day when thousands of women in Iran took to the streets without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, to mark the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death.
Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died on September 16, 2022, in a hospital following her arrest by Iran's morality police. She was detained for allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities.
After this, late on September 16, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a statement, calling the remarks of Iran's Supreme Leader unacceptable.
The statement said, "We strongly condemn the comments made by the Supreme Leader of Iran about minorities in India. This is not only based on misinformation but is also an unacceptable statement. Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own records before making any statement about others."
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