Indians in Kuwait fired for malicious posts against Muslims

A civil engineer from Mangaluru, working in an MNC in Kuwait for the past two decades, was fired after he allegedly posted derogatory comments against Muslims and the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.

Another Indian working as a hotel supervisor was fired after he shared a cartoon related to the congregation. Both have been asked to leave the country once airlines resume operations.

They aren’t the only ones who’ve come under scrutiny. A woman who works as an anaesthesia technician in Kuwait could lose her job after an old anti-Islam Facebook post resurfaced. A voice message (TOI is in possession of it) of her purportedly apologising is doing the rounds.

Indians working in the Gulf posting derogatory and offensive comments against Muslims and Islam on social media are not only being summarily sacked, but are also being jailed.

Sources say many countries in the region have teams who monitor social media posts and flag up offensive comments. Complaints are filed and employers tagged. With complaints increasing, Indian embassies in Gulf countries have stepped up efforts to educate Indians working abroad.

The issue came to the fore after Tablighi Jamaat delegates were accused by some media in India of deliberately infecting people with the Covid-19 virus.

“Voluntary cyber soldiers in the Gulf are monitoring anti-Islam posts on social media,” said an Indian working in an oil-rich country. “They take a screenshot and tag it with the individual’s company as well as a government enforcement body.

Employers immediately take punitive action.” The source said these individual also lose all benefits and cannot join other firms. “Every Indian should respect the law of the land,” the Indian said.

With inputs from TOI