News - Yemen:  The Yemeni Parliament condemned the offensive remarks against Prophet Muhammad, (Peace be on him), made by an official in the Indian ruling party. The Parliament members expressed their strong denunciation of provoking remakes which target the feelings of Muslims around the world, pointing out that any insult of Prophet Mohammed is an insult to all Muslims around the world.

They called on the heads and members of Arab and Islamic parliaments, to take serious and firm stances towards all those who insult the Prophet Mohammed and victory for the values of Islam. They called on the State of India and the Human Rights Council to condemn and denounce this hostile behavior. They called on the international community to criminalize insulting the prophets, religions and sanctities and not to contempt religions and beliefs as stipulated by international laws.

The Parliament considered these actions to Islam and Muslims a crime in addition to the crimes committed by this party against Muslims in India. 

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.”