The crisis brewing between Prime Minister Modi’s party and Arab countries may well be contained soon, but it looks like tensions between Hindus and Muslims inside the world’s most populous democracy will haunt Delhi’s foreign relations for years to come. 

Yesterday the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national spokeswoman, Nupur Sharma, was suspended from the party, pending an investigation into comments she made during a televised debate last week. Her words were seen as an insult to the Prophet Muhammad. The party’s spokesman in New Delhi, Naveen Jindal, was ousted from the party for approvingly tweeting Ms. Sharma’s comments. 

Today the BJP issued a statement insisting that it “respects all religions” and that it “strongly denounces the insult of any religious personality.” It followed a storm of angry comments across the world and summons of Indian ambassadors at Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran with demands for apology.

Saudi Arabia expressed “condemnation and denunciation” of Ms. Sharma’s “insulting the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.” India’s regional rival, Pakistan, raised the stakes with strong denunciations of Delhi.

The top Islamic university in Egypt, al Azhar, called Ms. Sharma’s words “a real terrorist action that helps to push the entire world to devastating crises and bloody wars.” Despite such statements, a number of experienced diplomats and observers of South Asia caution that we are far from a religious-based “bloody war.” 

“I think this crisis is under control,” a Western diplomat in Delhi, who asked not be named, told the Sun today. “Both sides have an interest in lowering the flames.” 

“So, yes,” the diplomat added, “there were demarches in the Gulf. But India reacted quickly, and” — here he referenced a visit to Doha by India’s vice president,  M. Venkaiah Naidu — “the visit was not canceled.”  

Yesterday, even as his ambassador was undergoing a dressdown at the Qatari foreign ministry, Mr. Naidu was cordially received by Qatar’s prime minister, Sheik Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani. They hailed an increase in bilateral trade, which reached $15 billion in the last two years.

Meanwhile the Qatari emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has not ruled out a visit to India. The Gulf states and India need each other.

During a visit to Doha a few years ago, this reporter noticed many Indian laborers, employed at anything from road work to domestic duties, as well as computer technicians and doctors. Millions of Indians live and work in the Gulf. Entire Indian families depend on remittances these guest workers send home from the wealthy Arab countries. 

India’s trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council  countries — Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates — was up to $87 billion in the year ending in 2021. India depends on oil and gas from the Gulf. It has already signed a free-trade agreement with the UAE. A similar pact with the entire GCC is in the works. 

Yet, the world-wide image of Mr. Modi’s BJP is that of a Hindu ultra nationalist party that is at constant loggerheads — if not war — with Muslims. As governor of Gujarat state, Mr. Modi was accused of fomenting violence against Muslims in riots that erupted in 2002, after which he was sanctioned by several states.

In 2005, America refused to grant Mr. Modi an entry visa. While the BJP has moderated since assuming power, many of its supporters remain hostile to the country’s minority of more than 250 million Muslims. 

Yet, since Mr. Modi assumed the presidency in 2014, he has made dozens of trips to the Gulf countries — and has visited Israel. The need to contain the current crisis that started with Ms. Sharma’s television appearance earlier this month explains the party’s rapid reaction. 

In the debate, Ms. Sharma responded to what she said was a slight to Shiva with what was widely seen as an insult to the Muslim prophet. Since then, Ms. Sharma complained to the police about threats of violence and rape against her. 

In counter-suits, she was accused of vilifying a prophet and intending to disturb the peace. She also issued an apology, though, tweeting, “If my words have caused discomfort or hurt religious feelings of anyone whatsoever, I hereby unconditionally withdraw my statement. It was never my intention to hurt anyone’s religious feelings.” 

It is not clear exactly how many Muslims there are in the country, but Delhi maintains that their numbers exceed those of majority Muslim Pakistan’s population of 225 million. Hindus, by contrast, are nearly 80 percent of India’s population of 1.4 billion — a constituency politicians mostly cater to.

The BJP’s rise to power heightened flare-ups between Hindus and Muslims. Even as Mr. Modi became somewhat adept at navigating those tensions, violence erupts often. As this week’s global firestorm shows, each time tensions reach a boiling point, India’s relations with the world will suffer.