New Delhi reacted strongly to Iran’s ‘supreme leader” Ayatollah Khamenei’s remark on Monday in which he clubbed the plight of Muslims in India with those in Gaza and Myanmar.
“The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah. We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in #Myanmar, #Gaza, #India, or any other place,” Khamenei said in a post on X, which was also translated into Bengali, Farsi and Arabic, among other languages.
The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah. We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in #Myanmar, #Gaza, #India, or any other place.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) September 16, 2024
New Delhi’s response was quick and incisive.
“We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the Supreme Leader of Iran. These are misinformed and unacceptable. Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” said a ministry of external affairs statement released late Monday.
Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khameneh, or Ali Khamenei’s remarks about India, a democracy, come at a time when the Islamic regime in Iran faces growing international condemnation over its repression of women, curbing freedom of speech, and discrimination against minorities.
Khamenei and his oppressive regime are responsible for the deaths of #MahsaAmini and thousands of other innocent Iranian women. pic.twitter.com/1N0dkqQzTp
— Emily (@emilyshar1) September 16, 2024
Baháʼís, Kurds and other minorities in theocratic Iran face arrests, executions, and systemic discrimination, particularly after the 2022 protests. Zoroastrians who fled persecution in Iran live peacefully in India, where there are over twice as many Muslims than in Iran.
Ironically, Khamenei’s remarks come on the second death anniversary of Mahsa Amini, a young girl whose death in custody of Khamenei’s ‘morality police’ for ‘inappropriate hijab’ sparked the 2022 protests.
Khamenei’s remarks about Muslim unity also come at a time when Iran is stepping up efforts to deport millions of Afghan refugees, all Muslims, who have fled persecution in their land. Many have been living in Iran for generations.
And it also begs the question: How many suffering Palestinians or Rohingyas from Myanmar have found refuge in Khamenei’s Iran?
Remarks like these from Iran’s supreme leader put an unnecessary strain on relations with India, which go back several centuries, and are marked by growing high-level exchanges, commercial cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people ties.
