– A K Kukkila
Who is bothered by saying ‘Jai Shri Ram’? Who is bothered by saying ‘Har Har Mahadev’? Who is bothered by saying ‘Jai Jai Hanuman’? Who is bothered by saying ‘I Love Shri Krishna’? Has anyone objected to saying this? Has anyone attacked the person who said it? Has anyone torn down such a banner? But in this country, one should not just say ‘I Love Muhammad’. If you say it, it will cause a clash. It will hurt the feelings of others.
Since September 4, 21 FIRs have been registered just for saying ‘I Love Muhammad’ or putting up banners. 1324 Muslims have been named as accused. 38 people have been arrested. 16 FIRs have been registered in Uttar Pradesh alone. Cases have been registered against more than a thousand people. The latest one is in Davanagere, Karnataka. Another community has objected to the hanging of a banner saying ‘I Love Muhammad’ in Karl Marx Nagar. There has been a demand that it be removed from there. This has also led to clashes between the two communities. Stone pelting has taken place.
Why is this happening? If someone says ‘I Love Muhammad’ or hangs a banner with that written on it, how does it become provocative? Why does it cause clashes? I love the Prophet Muhammad, so how and why should anyone get hurt? Why should it cause clashes? Who is spreading such propaganda? Why? Who is behind them?
The banner saying ‘I Love Muhammad’ first appeared in the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. On the occasion of the Meeladunnabi programme, local Muslims put up a banner saying ‘I Love Muhammad’ along the route of their procession. But another community objects, saying that this is a new practice and this cannot be done. Not only that, they also remove these banners. After that, the Kanpur police registered a case against 24 Muslims. MP Asaduddin Owaisi expressed his anger over this and shared a post on X on September 15. He expressed his opinion that saying ‘I Love Muhammad’ is not a crime, the police are targeting Muslims.
Later, an ‘I Love Muhammad’ banner was displayed in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh and 5 people were arrested. After that, the police stopped a procession planned by Muslims in Maharaj Ganj, Uttar Pradesh. A case was registered against 64 people. Then, Muslim women protested in front of the Vidhan Bhavan in Lucknow. After that, this development spread to various other states, including Uttarakhand and Gujarat.
Muslims celebrate Miladunnabi in the month of Prophet Muhammad’s birth. They go for processions. They sing the hymns of the Prophet. Why does doing this become part of hatred? Why should anyone be bothered when one says ‘I love Prophet Muhammad’? Why should anyone be intolerant?
This seems to be a conspiracy. It seems that the forces that want to create Hindu-Muslim conflict in any way are opposing ‘I Love Muhammad’ slogan. This group is spreading the word that whatever Muslims do is wrong, whatever they celebrate is wrong, whatever they see is wrong, whatever they hear is wrong. They have imposed a boycott on Muslims. They have opposed the morning call to prayer. They have objected to the halal food system. To the extent that the BJP Chief Minister of Uttarakhand has called the youth protest against the paper leak as fake jihad. Now they are saying that saying ‘I love Muhammad’ is a crime.
In a country, where it is allowed to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’, saying ‘I love Muhammad’ should not be said is a religious hatred, anti-Muslim hatred and an act against the Constitution. Muslims have never opposed Hindu festivals or their religious slogans. Therefore, those who oppose saying ‘I love Prophet Muhammad’ cannot be true Hindus.
