Leaders of prominent Islamic groups and mosques in the country have appealed to fellow Muslims on Monday to suspend plans for protests against derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad made by two members of the BJP, according to Reuters.
"It is the duty of every Muslim to stand together when anyone belittles Islam but at the same time it is critical to maintain peace," said Malik Aslam, a senior member of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a Muslim organisation that operates in several states.
Demonstrations took a violent turn last week, leading to the death of two teenagers and the wounding of more than 30 people, including police.
Early this month, two senior members of the BJP made remarks that offended Muslims. A party spokeswoman made the offending comment in a television debate and a party spokesman on social media.
Following outrage, the party suspended both of them and said its denounced any insult towards any religion, and police have also filed cases against the two.
On the other hand, police arrested at least 400 suspected rioters during unrest in several states and curfews were imposed and internet services were suspended in some places.
Muslims and rights groups interpreted the destruction of the house as punishment for the riots but state authorities said it was because it was illegally built on public land.
Countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Iran, important trade partners for India, have lodged diplomatic protests.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
