Al-Qaeda threatens suicide attacks in India over blasphemous remarks

'Saffron terrorists' should now await their end in major cities, warns Indian subcontinent chapter of terror outfit

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has threatened to carry out suicide attacks in different Indian states in the wake of derogatory remarks made by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

In a threating letter dated June 6, the AQIS said it would launch suicide attacks to “fight for the honour of the Prophet (PBUH)”.

“A few days ago, the propagators and flag bearers of Hindutva – a system and philosophy hostile to the religion and Shariah of Allah – insulted and slandered the purest of beings, the most honourable after God himself, Muhammad al Mustafa, Ahmad al Mujtaba, and his noble and pure wife, the mother of the believers, Sayyidah Ayesha bint Abu Bakr as Siddeeq in the most vile and evil manner on an Indian TV channel. In response to this affront, the hearts of Muslim[s] all over the world are bleeding and are filled with feelings of revenge and retribution,” the letter said.

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“We warn every audacious and impudent foul mouth of the world, especially the Hindutva terrorists occupying India that we should fight for the dignity of our Prophet (PBUH), we should urge others to fight and die for the honour of our Prophet (PBUH), we should kill those who affront our Prophet (PBUH) and we should bind explosives with our bodies and the bodies of our children to blow away the ranks of those who dare to dishonour our Prophet (PBUH),” the letter warned.

“The saffron terrorists should now await their end in Delhi, Bombay, UP and Gujarat. They should find refuge neither in their homes nor in their fortified army cantonments,” the letter stated.

India tightens security

A federal home ministry official in India said that intelligence agencies were checking the authenticity of the threats issued by the AQIS.

"We have also ordered state police to ensure public gatherings or protests are not allowed as they could be targeted by the militant group," a senior home ministry official in New Delhi said.

The security threat surfaced days after a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP made the blasphemous comments during a TV debate.

BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma's remarks sparked uproar among Muslims in India and triggered diplomatic protests from Islamic countries demanding an apology from the Indian government.

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Sharma has been suspended from the party while another spokesman, Naveen Kumar Jindal, was expelled over comments he made about Islam on social media.

Police in northern India arrested a BJP youth leader for posting anti-Muslim comments on social media, along with 50 other people who took part in sporadic unrest among minority Muslims in parts of India last week over Sharma's remarks.

India's foreign ministry said on Monday the offensive tweets and comments did not in any way reflect the government's views.

Instructions have been issued to several senior members of the BJP to be "extremely cautious" when talking about religion on public platforms.

But domestic outrage gained fresh momentum after leaders from Islamic nations including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran and Afghanistan demanded apologies from New Delhi and summoned diplomats to protest against the insulting remarks.

The influential 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said in a statement that the insults came in the context of an increasingly intense atmosphere of hatred towards Islam in India and systematic harassment of Muslims.

India's minority Muslims have felt more pressure on everything from freedom of worship to hijab head scarves under BJP rule. There were Hindu-Muslim clashes during religious processions recently, following deadly riots in 2019-20.

The new controversy has become a diplomatic challenge for Modi who in recent years has cemented strong relations with energy-rich Islamic nations.

Islamic rights groups in India said that it was the first time influential foreign leaders had spoken out against what they called humiliations experienced by the minority community.

"Our voices have finally been heard, only world leaders can nudge Modi's government and his party to change their attitude towards Muslims," said Ali Asghar Mohammed, who runs a voluntary rights group for Muslims in India's commercial capital Mumbai.

(With additional input from Reuters)