Charged for saying ‘I love Muhammad’, India’s Muslims decry gov’t crackdown

Lucknow, India – On the evening of September 4, an illuminated signboard lit up a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood successful Kanpur, an concern municipality successful India’s bluish authorities of Uttar Pradesh.

The signboard said: “I emotion Muhammad” – with a reddish bosom lasting successful for the word, love.

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It was the archetypal clip the chiefly working-class residents successful Kanpur’s Syed Nagar had enactment up specified a motion arsenic portion of the decorations arsenic they joined millions of Muslims astir the satellite to observe Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.

The day, marked arsenic Eid Milad-un-Nabi crossed South Asia, involves the faithful organising spiritual gatherings, Quran recitations, and sermons astir the prophet’s beingness and teachings. At immoderate places, the celebrations see wide processions, with radical carrying posters to explicit their emotion and reverence for the prophet.

In Syed Nagar, however, arsenic soon arsenic the words glowed, a radical of Hindu men swooped in, objecting to the celebration. Police were called in, and pursuing a ruckus that lasted hours, the signboard was removed precocious that night.

Charges related to promoting enmity betwixt antithetic spiritual groups, arsenic good arsenic deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the spiritual feelings of different community, were filed against 9 Muslim men and 15 unidentified radical from Syed Nagar. No arrests person been made truthful far.

Police attacking Muslim demonstrators successful Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India [Al Jazeera]

Mohit Bajpayee, a Syed Nagar nonmigratory affiliated with a Hindu radical named Sri Ramnavmi Samiti, said helium had nary objection to the text, ‘I emotion Muhammad’, but to the placement of the signboard astatine a spot utilized by them for a Hindu festival.

“All religions person adjacent rights nether the constitution,” helium told Al Jazeera. “But the motion was enactment up astatine a determination wherever our Ram Navami decorations are usually displayed. Everyone has a close to travel their religion, but caller traditions should not beryllium started successful caller locations.”

But the Muslim residents of Syed Nagar accidental the signboard was enactment up astatine a nationalist spot they converged astatine each twelvemonth for the prophet’s commencement anniversary.

“We had authoritative support for the decorations. Everyone has the close to practise their religion nether the constitution,” said a 28-year-old nonmigratory who is 1 of those charged, unwilling to uncover his individuality implicit fears of further enactment by the government.

MA Khan, the lawyer for the accused successful Kanpur, told Al Jazeera that the Muslim men were besides accused of tearing a banner of the Hindu assemblage during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession connected September 5.

“Many of those named were not adjacent contiguous successful the procession,” helium said.

‘Disturbing communal harmony’

Uttar Pradesh is location to 38 cardinal Muslims – much than the full colonisation of Saudi Arabia – comprising astir 20 percent of India’s astir populous state. Since 2017, the politically important authorities has been governed by Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu monk known for his anti-Muslim code and policies, and a salient person from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Days later, the spark from Kanpur ignited a occurrence immoderate 270km (168 miles) away, successful different Uttar Pradesh municipality called Bareilly – office of the Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims, who fig betwixt 200 cardinal to 300 cardinal crossed the world.

On September 10, the authorities constabulary registered a archetypal accusation study (FIR) against 9 Muslims successful Bareilly, including a spiritual scholar, accusing them of “disturbing communal harmony” and starting a “new tradition” that threatened nationalist order.

A Muslim pistillate protesting successful Lucknow, India [Naeem Ansari/Al Jazeera]

On September 21, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, main of a Muslim radical called Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) and descendant of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan, the laminitis of the Barelvi sect, announced a protestation implicit the FIRs filed successful Bareilly and Kanpur, and urged his supporters to stitchery astatine a crushed aft Friday prayers connected September 26 to denounce the constabulary action.

The territory medication denied Khan support for the rally.

On September 25, the IMC issued a connection asking radical not to stitchery for the protest. But hours later, Khan’s supporters allegedly circulated a societal media message, claiming the IMC connection was fake and aimed astatine defaming the Muslim body.

The adjacent day, thousands of Muslims assembled adjacent a celebrated Muslim shrine successful Bareilly aft the Friday prayers, holding “I emotion Muhammad” posters and raising slogans against the constabulary for their enactment successful Kanpur.

District authorities alleged that the march was unauthorised and accused immoderate participants of pelting stones astatine the constabulary and vandalising nationalist property. The constabulary responded with a baton charge, and arrested Khan and dozens of others, arsenic authorities unopen down the net successful the town.

Police attacking Muslim demonstrators successful Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India [Al Jazeera]

In a video connection recorded earlier his arrest, Khan said the crackdown was a targeted suppression of spiritual expression. “Attempts to suppress our spiritual sentiments volition backfire,” helium warned.

A time later, portion speaking astatine an lawsuit successful the authorities capital, Lucknow, Chief Minister Adityanath condemned the Bareilly unrest arsenic a “well-orchestrated attempt” to disturb societal harmony.

“Sometimes, radical are not capable to shun their atrocious habits easily. For that, immoderate denting-painting is required … You saw that successful Bareilly yesterday. A maulana [Muslim scholar] forgot who is successful power,” helium said successful Hindi, without naming anyone.

The “denting-painting” soon followed, arsenic has been the signifier with Adityanath’s crackdown connected Muslims accused of disrupting nationalist order. A banquet hallway belonging to 1 of the accused was bulldozed by the authorities successful Bareilly.

‘Government wants to instil fear’

Demolition of homes and commercialized properties belonging to Muslims accused of a scope of crimes has go a communal practice in Uttar Pradesh and different BJP-ruled states, contempt India’s apical tribunal precocious banning what it called the “bulldozer justice”. Rights groups accidental specified demolitions are a signifier of extralegal punishment that bypasses judicial processes and devastates families economically.

While the Uttar Pradesh authorities claimed the demolitions successful Bareilly targeted illegally-constructed buildings, the timing and targets suggest a wide strategy of intimidation.

“Police are registering cases against Muslims crossed the federation to suppress their morganatic protests … The BJP authorities wants to instil fearfulness truthful Muslims suffer the courageousness to talk for their spiritual and cardinal rights,” Sumaiya Rana, girl of the celebrated Urdu writer precocious Munawwar Rana, told Al Jazeera.

Rana herself organised a protestation extracurricular the authorities assembly gathering successful Lucknow, wherever much than a twelve demonstrators holding “I emotion Muhammad” placards were concisely detained by the police.

A pistillate protesting extracurricular the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly gathering successful Lucknow [Naeem Ansari/Al Jazeera]

The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), a rights group, says astatine slightest 22 FIRs person been filed crossed India successful transportation with the Muslim campaign, naming much than 2,500 individuals, with astatine slightest 89 arrested successful Bareilly truthful far.

“Authorities person treated a slogan expressing emotion for the prophet arsenic a transgression enactment and described it arsenic provocative,” APCR caput Nadeem Khan told Al Jazeera. “In galore cases, the medication violated owed process successful registering cases and demolishing the properties of the accused, which has terrible societal and economical impacts connected Muslim communities.”

SQR Ilyasi, a subordinate of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a salient Muslim body, stressed that peaceful protestation is not amerciable for immoderate assemblage successful India. “Expressing emotion for the prophet is our right,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Activist Vandana Mishra of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, a rights group, said the authorities often let the Hindu assemblage to “raise spiritual slogans freely, portion the number faces apprehension for expressing emotion for the prophet”.

“This contravenes the secular and antiauthoritarian ethos of our constitution,” she told Al Jazeera.

Opposition parties person besides criticised the Uttar Pradesh government’s actions.

The Samajwadi Party, 1 of the state’s biggest governmental forces, said it attempted to nonstop a delegation to Bareilly to conscionable the victims of the constabulary crackdown, but claimed its members were prevented. “The authorities talks of ideology but acts successful implicit disregard of it,” the person of the absorption successful the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey, told reporters successful Lucknow.

Lawyer Zia Jillani, who precocious visited Bareilly and is representing immoderate of the accused, told Al Jazeera that astir of those arrested oregon facing charges “belong to the marginalised sections of nine and gain connected a regular wage basis”.

“For them, owed to their fiscal incapability, pursuing and warring ineligible cases against the injustices inflicted upon them is an unbearable task,” helium said.

“This benignant of hatred authorities preys connected the poor, taking vantage of their vulnerability portion ignoring justness and accountability.”