Since April, voices in the Gulf states have complained of what they called a growing wave of Islamophobia in India. From a member of the royal family of the UAE emirate of Sharjah to a lawyer in Kuwait, influential figures in the region have warned of repercussions for the tide of Islamophobia. This has included taking a stern view of Islamophobic social media posts by Indians in the Gulf countries.
Welcome to the UAE, where hate speech is a crime. Failure to respect yourself and our laws gets you a first class ticket to prison, fine and deportation.https://t.co/11hTcdp5Zg
— Princess Hend Al Qassimi (@LadyVelvet_HFQ) May 18, 2020
On Monday, UAE-based Gulf News reported that an Indian working with a mining company in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah had been fired for allegedly making Islamophobic posts on Facebook. Gulf News reported, "Brajkishore Gupta was fired without notice for calling Indian Muslims coronavirus spreaders and hailing Delhi riots as divine justice in his Facebook posts."
Brajkishore was described by Gulf News as being a native of Chapra in Bihar, who was working with Stevin Rock, a mining company.
"Our company policy supports the direction of the UAE Government in promoting tolerance and equality and strongly renouncing racism and discrimination and we have sent communications to all of our employees irrespective of their religious or ethnic background reminding them that any such behaviour is unacceptable and will lead to immediate dismissal,” Jean-François Milian, business development and exploration manager of Stevin Rock, told Gulf News.
Princess Hend Al Qassimi, a member of the Sharjah Royal Family, who had commented extensively on Islamophobia in India, tweeted about the action against Brajkishore Gupta. She wrote, "Welcome to the UAE, where hate speech is a crime. Failure to respect yourself and our laws gets you a first class ticket to prison, fine and deportation."
Twitter users complained of Brajkishore Gupta a week ago, posting screenshots of his provocative Facebook posts.
Hend Al Qassimi became famous for commenting on Islamophobia last month after she countered an Indian man who abused the Tablighi Jamaat group for spreading the coronavirus in India. In an interview to THE WEEK last month, Hend Al Qassimi warned that the repercussions of Islamophobia "will be felt not only by Hindus in India…. It will have a domino effect."
Gulf News noted, "In May alone at least three such hate-mongers were fired or suspended in the UAE after many tagged their employers in their complaints, who in turn took swift punitive action."
