Agencies: A large grocery store in Kuwait removed Indian goods from its shelves, while condemnations continued in the Arab world on Monday in protest against statements about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made by a senior official in the ruling party in India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party in India suspended on Sunday the membership of its spokesperson Nupur Sharma due to her expression of “opinions contrary to the position” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, which is continuously accused of targeting the Muslim minority in the country.

About 8.7 million out of 13.5 million Indian expatriates live in the Gulf region alone, the majority in the UAE (3.4 million), Saudi Arabia (2.5 million), and Kuwait (about one million Indians), according to official Indian statistics.

Following the spread of the statements, the Ardiya Cooperative Society southwest of Kuwait City removed Indian goods from its shelves on Sunday evening, while an official in the Cooperative Societies Union, the largest grocery store chain in Kuwait, reported that discussions are underway regarding adopting the boycott across all branches.

The director of the Ardiya Cooperative Society, Nasser Al-Mutairi, told Agence France-Presse, “We boycotted Indian products because of the insult to the Prophet. We, as Kuwaiti people and Muslims, do not accept insults to the Prophet.”

For his part, Mutlaq Rashid, who was shopping in the store, said, “Boycotting India is something imposed on every Muslim and on every country. All Islamic countries and all individuals should boycott all Indian goods.”

In Cairo, Al-Azhar considered in a statement that the statements represent “the very real terrorism that can plunge the whole world into deadly crises and fierce wars. Therefore, the international community must firmly, sternly, and strongly confront the dangers posed by these troublemakers.”

Sharma’s statements were considered a cause of clashes in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, and several Indian Islamic organizations demanded her arrest.

Sharma justified her comments via Twitter, saying they were a response to the “insults” directed at the Hindu god Shiva, and she stated, “If my words caused discomfort or offended anyone’s religious feelings at all, I hereby unconditionally withdraw my statement.”

“Official apology”

After the authorities in Qatar and Kuwait summoned the Indian ambassadors to submit official protests, and Saudi Arabia condemned the statements through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque stated that “such a heinous act does not represent respect for religions.”

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef Al-Hajraf, expressed in a statement his “condemnation, rejection, and denunciation of the statements,” emphasizing the “position rejecting provocation or targeting beliefs and religions or belittling them.”

The “Muslim World League,” headquartered in Saudi Arabia, warned of “the dangers inherent in methods of inciting hatred, including offending religious symbols,” while the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision to suspend the spokesperson of the Indian party from work.

The “Movement of Society for Peace” in Algeria called on the Indian government to provide “an official apology to Muslims and a pledge not to repeat this,” urging “a global uprising to support the Prophet… and to exercise all forms of legal, political, and diplomatic pressures and sanctions.”

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned the Indian ambassador to protest.

Statements considered anti-Islam previously sparked angry demonstrations in the Islamic world.

France faced severe criticism in Islamic countries in 2020 after French President Emmanuel Macron defended the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in the name of freedom of expression, following an extremist in October of that year cutting off the head of a French teacher who showed these cartoons to his students.

Angry demonstrations broke out in several Islamic countries protesting Macron’s statements.

In January 2015, two gunmen who declared allegiance to Al-Qaeda attacked the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people including several of its top cartoonists after its depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in caricatures sparked immense anger and death threats.