Oman's grand mufti urges India to 'remember kindness of past Muslim rulers'
The grand mufti of Oman has urged the Indian government to remember the "kindness and benevolence" of India's previous Muslim rulers and congratulated Pakistanis on achieving "victory over their aggressors".
On Saturday, after four days of shelling and unprecedented aerial incursions on both sides, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire.
On Monday Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili, the grand mufti of Oman, issued a statement congratulating Pakistan "on their victory over their aggressors", referring to India.
He said in Arabic that "we hope they [Pakistan] will stand with all steadfastness and strength with their oppressed Muslim brothers, especially in the blessed land of Al-Aqsa".
The mufti added: "We call upon the Government of India to abandon its hostility towards Muslims and to remember how its Muslim rulers in the past treated its people - regardless of their religion - with kindness and benevolence."
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Many areas of the Indian subcontinent were governed by Muslim rulers before the British empire took control. The Mughal empire ruled most of the subcontinent between the 16th and 18th centuries.
Oman, Gwadar and Pakistan
On Saturday, Oman's government officially welcomed the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
Oman has friendly relations with both India and Pakistan, but it also shares a maritime border with Pakistan.
The port of Gwadar, in what is now a part of Balochistan in Pakistan, was ruled by Oman for nearly two centuries from 1784 until the 1950s.
Oman offered to sell Gwadar to newly independent India in 1956, but the Indian government - led by Jawaharlal Nehru - rejected the offer. In 1958, Oman sold Gwadar to Pakistan.
The mufti's accusation that the Indian government is "hostile" towards Muslims appears to be a reference to widespread accusations that it has encouraged violence against minorities.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party has been in power since 2014, the idea of Hindutva - sometimes known as Hindu nationalism - has become more popular.
Critics say this has led to a documented rise in violence and discrimination against minority groups, including Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.
A British foreign office report in 2002 held Modi - then chief minister of the state of Gujarat - "directly responsible" for a pogrom which killed over 1,000 Indian Muslims.
The recent conflict between India and Pakistan began after a brutal attack by suspected rebels on Indian tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on 22 April. India blames the attack on Pakistan, while Islamabad denies any involvement.
Last Wednesday 7 May, India launched a deadly attack on Pakistani territory on Wednesday morning, which Pakistan said killed at least 36 people, including civilians.
India said Pakistani shelling killed at least 16 people, civilians among them, in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
After that came nearly four days of intense aerial incursions and shelling between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, until US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the two countries had come to a ceasefire.
Conflict over the divided former princely state of Kashmir has caused three wars between India and Pakistan. Both countries accuse the other of occupying the region.
India currently claims the region as "integral" to its sovereignty, while Pakistan calls for a plebiscite - including in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir - to give Kashmiris the right to self-determination.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
