On Sunday, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it was “closely” watching the recent developments in India, including Parliament passing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the verdict in the Ayodhya case.
The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC) has been following recent developments affecting Muslim minority in #India. It expresses its concern over the recent developments pertaining to both the issue of citizenship rights & the #BabriMasjid case. pic.twitter.com/lm8lIH2LeL
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) December 22, 2019
According to the statement issued by OIC, the Islamic body expressed its concern over the recent developments pertaining to both the issue of citizenship rights and the Babri Masjid case. In a historical verdict, the Supreme Court on 9th November handed over the Ram Janmabhoomi site to the Hindus while giving an alternate piece of land to the Sunni Waqf Board for the mosque.
“The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has been closely following recent developments affecting Muslim minority in India,” the OIC said in a brief statement.
The OIC also urged the Indian government to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority and the protection of their religious sites. It “reaffirms the crucial importance of upholding the principles and obligations enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and relevant international covenants that guarantee the rights of minorities without any discrimination,” the statement said.
It also cautioned that “any action, contrary to these principles and obligations, may lead to further tensions and may have serious implications on peace and security across the region.”
The OIC is a 57-member grouping of Muslim majority nations, including Pakistan. The body has usually been supportive of Pakistan and often sided with the terror-state in its disputes with India. In September, following the abrogation of Article 370, the OIC had asked India to “rescind” its actions in Kashmir and abide by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
It is ironical that OIC is concerned about on minority rights in India when most of its members are accused of persecuting religious, ethnic minorities in their own country. Addition to this, the Islamic organisation is very much silent on human rights violation in China over the issue of Uyghur Muslims. Instead, the OIC had praised China in its the Abu Dhabi Declaration, stating, “We commend the efforts of the People’s Republic of China in providing care to its Muslim citizens”.
The OIC is also silent on the persecution of Hindus, Balochis, Pashtuns, Sikhs who are fighting for their freedom from the Sunni Punjabi Muslim-dominated Pakistan.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed by the Parliament and signed into law by the President this month.
According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship. The Muslims of these three countries could apply for citizenship for India under the current laws.
