The coronavirus crisis should not be used as a pretext to target Muslims in India warned American diplomacy on Thursday, in a rare position on the situation of the religious minority in the country. "We have seen reports in India of unfortunate harassment speeches related to Covid, especially against the Muslim community, exacerbated by fake news shared on social media," department chief Sam Brownback told reporters. State responsible for religious freedom.
AFP investigations have revealed the misleading or inaccurate nature of hundreds of articles relayed in India on social networks, targeting Muslims, including questionable videos showing members of the religious minority licking fruit for sale.
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Sam Brownback did not accuse the Indian government of being behind the move, saying he was "encouraged" by public statements, including a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for unity. Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political party of Narendra Modi, however, relayed some of the hundreds of thousands of publications using the hashtag #CoronaJihad.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises but does not define government policy, said last month that India should be blacklisted for its "dramatic" decline in religious freedom under the Modi government. New Delhi has categorically rejected this criticism and it is very unlikely that the State Department will act against India, an increasingly close ally of the United States.
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