News - Yemen: Yemen condemned, in the strongest terms, the offensive remarks against Prophet Muhammad, (Peace be on him), made by an official in the Indian ruling party.

The Yemeni news agency Saba, quoted Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf as saying that the Indian ruling party's abuse of the Holy Prophet is a provocation to the feelings of more than a billion and a half Muslims around the world, and about 200 million Muslims in India.

He pointed out that this abuse will cast a negative shadow on India's relations with the Islamic world, and threaten social peace in it, stressing that this abuse will not affect the status of Prophet Muhammad nor the values and ideals that he came and advocated for.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs concluded his statement by calling on the international community to condemn statements that incite hatred and offend religions and religious symbols.

In recent remarks on a TV news debate, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s spokesperson Nupur Sharma made inflammatory comments against the Prophet of Islam, which led to widespread condemnation in the country and also triggered violent clashes in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur on Friday.

The BJP on Sunday suspended Sharma from the party while distancing itself from her offensive remarks.

The party also expelled Naveen Kumar Jindal, who heads its Delhi media, from the party, after he allegedly posted a tweet about the Prophet but later deleted it. The BJP said Jindal's views on social media undermine communal harmony and are in violation of the party's fundamental beliefs.

In a statement earlier in the day, the BJP said, “During the thousands of years of the history of India, every religion has blossomed and flourished. The Bharatiya Janata Party respects all religions. The BJP strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion.”

“The Bharatiya Janata Party is also strongly against any ideology, which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy,” it added.

Following the hashtag #AnyoneButTheProphetOModi has taken social media by storm, securing the number one trend on Twitter in Arab states.

In a tweet on Sunday, Sharma apologized for her comments, saying, “I take back my words if they have hurt anyone's religious sentiments.”