A leading Saudi journalist and former editor of newspaper Saudi Gazette, Khaled Al-Maeena has said that the Arab world faced the worst kind of malicious and hatred attacks from Indians amid criticism of ongoing violence against Muslims in the South Asian country.
Al-Maeena said the ongoing Islamophobic campaign has worsened the coronavirus impact on job opportunities for Indians in the Gulf region.
He singled out Hindu radicals belonging to the ruling BJP party and their sympathizers, who he said have upset the Middle Eastern Muslims with their recent Islamophoic comments and actions.
“Those involved in this malicious campaign are not the ruffians or uneducated goons but Indian politicians and other educated people,” he said in an interview with Indian news portal, The Wire.
Khaled Al-Maeena who is considered as one of the most respected journalists of the Middle East was of the view that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi must speak up for India’s Muslims.
He cited the example of bold leadership by recalling the way a President of Austria who was a Jew, spoke in favor of Palestinian leader , Yasser Arafat, when Arafat was unable to make it to France, and when people started calling Arafat a terrorist.
“Indian Prime Minister should also support the Muslims living in his country — Modi and Amit Shah should call for an end to violence against Muslims and say enough is enough,” the Saudi Journalist said.
Speaking fluently in Urdu/Hindi, Al-Maeena said that Arabs used to know India having Gandhian ideology and policies of Jawahar Lal Nehru as a secular and multicultural place but today’s India is a fascist country.
He was of the view that the worst kind of ‘blasphemous’ comments also came from BJP and the Arabs are (were) also watching videos of public lynchings of Muslims in India.
The seasoned journalist indicated that even moderate and liberal Muslims living in the Middle East were furious and deeply hurt by the situation.
“I want to send a message to the Hindu brothers of India that when corona arrived in Arabia, we gave equal treatment to everyone without seeing the religion, identity, and the country. I say do not let some bad people spoil the name of your country, do not talk about violence, I want to see progress and peace in India because, in a strong India, all is well,” the analyst commented.
In the interview Al-Maeena said the Arab people are perturbed and rejected the impression that the Arab royal governments would remain aloof to the situation. So much so, one Hindu said that working with Israel we can run over an Arab country without any difficult, look at this, he pointed out, expressing disbelief and shock at such comments.
Al-Maeena noted the Indians working in the fields of the construction sector, hotel industry, and service industry are (were) losing their jobs in the Middle East due to COVID-19 and there is was) no chance of their return back to UAE in near future.
According to The Middle East Institute, “Indian migration to the Gulf has served as a valuable source of income for the nation and as the backbone of the economies of high-migration states such as Kerala through the transfer of remittances. During this time, Indian migrant workers.”
Over the past few decades, Indians have made it to prominent positions in the Gulf newspapers and the IT industry. Indian workforce sends billions of dollars back to their homeland from the oil-rich region.
But Al-Maeena indicated that now business owners would think twice before hiring Indians back once the coronavirus crisis is gone.
In #USCIRFAnnualReport2020, USCIRF recommended #India be designated a Country of Particular Concern for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom during 2019.
Unfortunately, this negative trend has continued into 2020. https://t.co/WC3ZzT6Mzx
— USCIRF (@USCIRF) May 14, 2020
For their part, Indian rulers including Prime Minister Modi, have defended their controversial policies like Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Registrar – both of which critics say discriminate against Muslims.
But several world and human rights organizations including the US Commission on International Religious Freedom have condemned India’s treatment of Muslims protesting the two moves, and images of violence against Muslims in a New Delhi neighborhood shocked the world. Several leaders and news outlets blaming a Muslim congregation for spread of COVID-19 have also received international condemnation.
India’s annexation of Kashmir on August 5, 2019 with a suffocating military clampdown and denial of freedom of expression, communication and movement drew world worldwide attention.
Al-Maeena, who has decades of international experience, is a respected progressive voice in the Muslim world, says Indians at this point are not aware how deeply their policies and attacks against Islam have perturbed Muslims in the Arab world.
Besides being a veteran journalist, Khalid Al-Maeena a multi-linguist, runs his own business in Jeddah. Al-Maeena has served as the head of the Saudi Public Relations Company (SPRC), and is well-known to influential circles in the Saudi government, and Arab intelligentsia.
