'I Love Mohammad' Protests In UP's Bareilly: Stones Pelted After Friday Prayers, Police Lathi Charge

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A sea of protesters gathered outside Ala Hazrat Dargah and IMC chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan's house, holding 'I Love Mohammad' placards after the Friday prayers in Bareily, Uttar Pradesh, on September 26.

Videos shared by news agency ANI showed heavy security deployed at both the spots. According to reports, police deployed lathicharge as protesters pelted stones during the protests after the Friday prayers.

What did police say?

Inspector General Ajay Sahni said on Friday there's peace on the streats and“no disorder” is being witnessed.

"We are all on the streets. There is complete peace. There is no disorder of any kind... When the Force was conducting a flag march, some miscreants came out onto the streets shouting slogans... Their arrest will be ensured...," Ajay Sahni said.

'I Love Mohammad' protest: What is it about?

The“I Love Mohammad” row began in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, during a Barawafat procession where posters with the slogan were displayed, sparking objections by right-wing Hindu groups over "deviation from the tradition".

Boards with“I Love Mohammad” written on them were installed on a public road in Syed Nagar under Rawatpur police station area in Kanpur, police said on September 15.

The move triggered objections from Hindu organisations, who termed it a“new trend” and alleged it was a deliberate provocation, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Dinesh Tripathi was quoted by PTI as saying.

“Members of the Muslim community had installed these boards last week and erected a tent on a public road, close to a gate from where the Ram Navami procession usually passes,” the DCP had said.

“We tried to persuade them to remove the boards and tent as no new trend on public roads can be permitted. Their actions posed a potential threat to law and order. No one will be spared,” Tripathi had said.

FIRs were filed, and the controversy spread across several UP districts, including Bareilly, and to states like Uttarakhand and Karnataka, leading to protests, poster removals, and police crackdowns.

Later, cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza called for a protest on Friday (September 26) and announced a sit-in demonstration at Islamia Ground over the issue of "I Love Mohammad" posters.

Asaduddin Owaisi reacts to 'I Love Muhammad' row

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday reacted sharply to the controversy over posters with“I Love Muhammad” written on them in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, questioning why such expressions of faith should be seen as provocative.

“If there is an 'I Love Mahadev' group then what is the problem? What is anti-national here? What sort of violence does this promote? If the word is 'love' then why is anyone having a problem? I think we have to play the 'Mohabbat Zindabad' song from Mughal-e-Azam for these people. If there can be a 'Happy Birthday PM Modi' poster then why can't there be an 'I Love Prophet Muhammad' poster?” Asaduddin Owaisi told reporters in poll-bound Bihar's Purnea.

Owaisi also cited Article 25 of the Constitution, saying freedom of religion was a fundamental right.“What is anti-national about this? Which part of this promotes violence? ... A Muslim's faith is not complete until he loves Prophet Muhammad more than everything else in the world. What message are you sending to the world by objecting to this?” he said.

MENAFN26092025007365015876ID1110115300