Prophet remark row | Encourage respect, tolerance for all faiths: UN
“I've seen stories. I haven't seen the remarks themselves, but I mean, regardless, I can tell you that we strongly encourage respect and tolerance for all religions,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson of UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres
As the list of the nations grows amid objections to the remarks made against Prophet Mohammed by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, the United Nations has said it encourages "respect and tolerance for all religions". "I've seen stories. I haven't seen the remarks themselves, but I mean, regardless, I can tell you that we strongly encourage respect and tolerance for all religions," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson of UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, said at a press conference, news agency PTI reported.
His answer was in response to a question by a Pakistani journalist over the condemnation by several Islamic countries on the comments by Sharma and Jindal. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan, and Jordan among others became the latest countries to send formal messages in the midst of diplomatic concerns. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party, which insult the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. (sic)," Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry tweeted on Monday.
On Monday evening, the Indian ambassador to Iraq was summoned in protest against the insult to Prophet Mohammad.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
A statement issued by the country's Parliamentary Endowments and Tribes Committee, said, "The committee expresses strong condemnation to the inaccuracies of the spokeswoman for the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian ruling party, as it contained an insult to the Holy Messenger Muhammad," the Iraqi News Agency reported.
Two days back, the Qatar foreign ministry summoned Indian Ambassador Deepak Mittal over the same issue.
Both Sharma and Jindal have apologised and issued a clarification over their remarks. The former BJP spokespersons have also alleged death threats to them and their families.
The Delhi Police, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that security was being provided to Nupur Sharma and her family after an FIR was registered on a complaint that she was getting death threats.
