Arab nations have expressed their outrage over two of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party members’ comments insulting Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

During a televised debate, the BJP’s national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma insulted Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his wife Aisha. Her colleague Kumar Jindal had posted a derogatory tweet against the Messenger. That tweet has now been deleted.

The comments sparked an international diplomatic storm, with Boycott India campaigns going viral online as well as nationwide protests calling for an end to Islamaphobia. Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have demanded that India apologise for the utterances of their party members.

Sharma and Jindal have been since been suspended.

Critics say the utterances of the BJP members reflects the deep religious polarisation that India has been witnessing over the past few years. Since the BJP came into power in 2014, hate speech and attacks on Muslims have sharply risen.