What was behind the ‘I Love Muhammad’ movement? | Explained

The story so far: On September 4, in Kanpur’s Rawatpur area, a few young men put up a lightboard at the entrance of a lane in Syed Nagar on the procession route with the words, ‘I Love Muhammad’, written in English. It was put up as part of celebrations around the Prophet’s birthday. Some Hindu groups claimed it was in contravention of rules of religious processions in the State. A scuffle ensued and after FIRs were filed against 15 unidentified people and nine identified persons, the row spread to other cities of Uttar Pradesh before brimming over to other States. It soon developed into a debate on the right to freedom of religion.

What happened?

While Kanpur witnessed little violence, Bareilly saw protests as well as the use of bulldozers on the private properties of some of those allegedly involved in the violence, including the son-in-law of Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, on whose call a thousand Muslims had gathered at Islamia grounds on September 26, to protest against the State’s alleged high-handedness in Kanpur. The police, after initially permitting the protest, withdrew it shortly before the prayers. Though Mr. Khan made a belated appeal to followers to disperse following the denial of police permission, many people had already gathered. The police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the protestors. Next day, private properties of Mr. Khan’s relatives and a doctor said to be close to him were destroyed.

Residents of Unnao too, found themselves in similar hot waters with local Muslim youth organising processions holding ‘I Love Muhammad’ placards and chanting religious slogans. Clashes were reported as the police objected to the use of boards with the said slogan. It led to eight FIRs and arrests of five individuals. Meanwhile, in Maharajganj, police did not give permission for a procession leading to further alienation of local residents who read in the police action a denial of their right to freedom of religion. The police action did, however, thwart the possibility of any violence.

What about other States?

In the neighbouring State of Uttarakhand, Muslim residents alleged that police response was disproportionate to a peaceful march where the protestors held up placards with ‘I Love Muhammad’ written on them and called for the cancellation of FIRs in Kanpur.

Soon the row spread to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh before hitting Telangana, the first non-BJP-ruled State to report a problem around the slogan. By then, ‘I Love Muhammad’ posters had spread across the country with people using the slogan as part of their social media handles. It is being seen as the Muslim community’s response to the allegedly excessive use of force first by the U.P. police followed by its counterparts in other States.

What lies ahead?

What began as a localised dispute in Kanpur grew into a nationwide debate on freedom of expression, right to equality and freedom of religion. The Association for Protection of Civil Rights, which investigated the controversy, found that 21 FIRs were lodged, over 1,324 individuals from the Muslim community booked, and 38 people arrested in Uttar Pradesh and other States.

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has called for the cancellation of FIRs against members of the community and dubbed the criminalisation of the ‘I Love Muhammad’ slogan ultra vires as it went against Articles 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Board called for the immediate release of Mr. Khan and others. A delegation led by the Leader of the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, Mata Prasad Pandey, was restrained from reaching Bareilly. The Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan was also detained by the police and Sambhal MP Ziaur Rehman Barq was placed under house arrest.