Opinion ‘I love Muhammad’: The phrase isn’t divisive – it must not be criminalised

Recently, some posters and placards in UP, saying “I love Muhammad!” have become red rags for the administration, which has framed it as a “new ritual,” and a bid to increase communal polarisation. As a law-abiding citizen of India, the three-word declaration from Islam is as innocuous as “I love Maryada Purushottam Ram!”, “I love Lord Jesus!” or “I love Guru Nanak!”

Surely, we aren’t like the French, who may respect religion but are mandated to keep it in the personal space?

Three points can help us understand what has gone wrong and the way forward.

First, while religiosity in any society is a personal matter, it also needs regulation and moderation — be it Muslims taking over a public thoroughfare for Friday prayers or processions of Muharram, Rama Navami, Dussehra, Guru Nanak Jayanti, etc. Incidentally, as per the Islamic value system, after mentioning the name of Prophet Muhammad, it is mandatory to write PBUH (Peace Be Upon Him). The person who coined, “I love Muhammad”, should have made it as, “I love Muhammad (PBUH)”.

That said, another question needs to be asked: Was the coinage meant to be provocative? In a system where, like political panthers waiting in the wings, imams from mosques and godmen from mutts wait for a spark to stoke, what was the need for this?

Second, our Constitution, through Articles 25, 29, 30, and others, has secured the space for people from different religious and social backgrounds to follow their faith. There will always be politically motivated and disgruntled elements who act as rabble-rousers. The “I love Muhammad” placard inflames these elements.

Yet, the notion that the phrase “I love Muhammad” could lead to Hindu-Muslim tensions is an assault on our large-hearted ethos of pluralism. Instead of addressing the administrative lapses, authorities have framed it as an issue of Hindu-Muslim tension. There have been dozens FIRs, hundreds of people booked and scores arrested across multiple states, including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Arresting and booking people for peacefully protesting or expressing their devotion for a particular deity is unconstitutional. It erodes the public trust in democratic institutions and undermines faith in the law. Just days ago, the RSS chied said that key to being a Vishwaguru is the capacity to respect our plurality and diversity.

As for the Muslim community, it, too, should respond with poise, common sense and wisdom, never losing sight of the fact that the sign was about celebrating the message of compassion, care and camaraderie as shown by Prophet Muhamad (PBUH). They must be misled, or let the protest turn violent. That would be a self-goal. For, there are elements waiting to marginalise them further, using draconian laws to put them behind bars.

To whichever faith, cast, creed, clan or region we belong to, our cumulative effort must be to uplift India.

The couplet from Afzal Manglori, below, says it all:

“Bharat pe merey Rehmat-e-Parwardigar hai/ Kripa Prabhu Ram ki, Kanha ka pyar hai!”

The blessing of Allah is surely on Bharat/ So is the love of Prabhu Rama and Lord Krishna on Bharat!

The writer is a former Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University