India: Police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against several Muslims after “I love Muhammad” boards were put up in Syed Nagar, a neighbourhood through which Hindu religious processions usually pass.
On September 9, the FIR named nine people and included 15 unnamed residents including Sharafat Hussain, Babu Ali, Mohammad Siraj, Rahman, Ikram Ahmed, Iqbal, Bunty, Kunnu “Kabadi,” Sahnoor Alam, and two vehicle drivers.
The complaint, filed at Rawatpur police station, accuses them of acting “deliberately” to disrupt communal harmony. Police say the signs and a tent were erected on a public road near a gate used annually by the Ram Navami procession.
After attempts to have the signs removed voluntarily, including through local Muslim clerics, failed, the police themselves removed the boards.
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Deputy Commissioner of Police Dinesh Tripathi commented: “No new trend on public roads can be permitted. This was a threat to communal peace, and nobody involved will be spared.”
Muslim leaders and civil society have criticised the FIR. Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), defended the boards as an expression of devotion to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
On X, he posted a verse by Allama Iqbal: “Loving the Prophet ﷺ is no crime. If it is, then I accept every punishment for it.”
Critics say this case highlights a pattern where religious minorities are more likely to be targeted for public religious displays, while similar displays by Hindu groups often go unchallenged.
