Asaduddin Owaisi slams FIR against Muslims in UP, shares poetry on Prophet Muhammad
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Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the Uttar Pradesh police after an FIR was registered against more than 20 Muslim men in Kanpur.
The case was filed over allegations that participants in a recent Milad-un-Nabi procession displayed a banner reading “I Love Muhammad.”
Hindutva groups vandalised the I Love Muhammed banners erected on the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi on September 4 yet UP police filed FIR against 25 Muslims.
Milad-un-Nabi, observed by Muslims to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad, is considered a significant religious occasion, Siasat Daily reported.
Reacting on X, Owaisi denounced the FIR and expressed his disapproval by quoting a verse of poetry from Tūm par maiñ laakh jān se qurbān yā Rasūl (an expression of love and reverence for the Prophet Muhammad composed by Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Shair-e-Mashriq):
तुम पर मैं लाख जान से क़ुर्बान या-रसूल
बर आएँ मेरे दिल के भी अरमान या-रसूल
क्यों दिल से मैं फ़िदा न करूँ जान या-रसूल
रहते हैं इस में आप के अरमान या-रसूल
On September 4, a Milad-un-Nabi procession in Syed Nagar, under the Rawatpur police station area, featured a banner reading “I Love Muhammad” placed on a public road that is traditionally used for Ram Navami processions.
The banner drew objections from some right-wing activists. Advocate Mohammad Imran Khan told Maktoob Media that a man named Mohit Bajpayee, linked to Hindutva groups, labelled it “objectionable” and a “new tradition,” before staging a protest that escalated into vandalism. He described Bajpayee as a repeat offender.
Police later arrived at the scene, and the banner was taken down after several hours.
While an FIR was filed against Muslims over the banner, Advocate Khan said police refused to register a complaint against the Hindutva members involved. He argued that those who were targeted ended up facing charges, while those responsible for unrest and communal tensions were left untouched.