Ghana's Muslim Conference has demanded an apology from India over two lawmakers' offensive remarks

The National Muslim Conference of Ghana has joined Muslims throughout the world in calling for an unequivocal apology from the Indian government over disrespectful remarks made by two prominent figures.

It condemned the remarks, saying they were not isolated outbursts from two politicians, but rather a reflection of a growing trend of intolerance in India that has advocated for violence and even genocide against Muslims.

The organization called on the Indian government to take active measures to stem the tide of Islamophobia in the country in a statement released in Accra yesterday.

It regretted the government's delay in penalizing the two individuals, which came only after certain Islamic countries released critical remarks.

Currently, the statement claims that persons in positions of authority are making constant and incendiary statements that verge on hate speeches, hostile harassment, and pervasive violence towards Muslims.

Such volatile acts that sought to erode the very foundations of the international community should not be countenanced as a nation that was a signatory to most international conventions on the protection of human rights, which protected the rights of freedom of religion and proscribed discrimination based on ethnic or religious origin.

The group was also concerned about incitements to violence, which have grown alarmingly in recent months under the current administration, according to the statement.

The imposition of Hindu dietary habits on Muslims and the prohibition of Muslim head coverings in schools were both labeled as Islamophobic.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, which made faith a criterion for gaining Indian citizenship, was also fueled by Islamophobia, according to the statement, and was a flagrant violation of their fundamental human rights.

The group also expressed concerns about the power of a new mass culture characterized by incendiary content and hateful anti-Islam lyrics in cinema, poetry, and music.

The goal of these, according to the statement, was to politically mobilize the majority of Hindus against Muslims.

"This religious polarization and well-oiled ecosystem of hatred, which the current government has nurtured," the statement continued, "has found frightening expression in the Indian mass media, where the overwhelming majority of news outlets have, lock, stock, and barrel, become echo chambers and cheerleaders of such bigotry."

Coopting the media to propagate hatred for political benefit was not sustainable, according to the statement, and the government was encouraged to address the matter.