What began as a small local dispute in Kanpur has rapidly spiralled into violent protests across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and other states. Radical Islamist groups used the slogan ‘I Love Muhammad‘ to rally Islamist mobs, leading to stone-pelting, rioting, and open threats against law-enforcement officers. Instead of peaceful expression, processions in several towns turned into platforms for extremist sloganeering, including the barbaric Sar Tan Se Juda chant that has historically accompanied beheading threats against kafirs by the Islamic elements.
‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign: a precursor for violence
The seemingly benign pro-Islamic slogan ‘I Love Muhammad‘ has become a carefully crafted tool to lay the groundwork for communal unrest in Bharat. What appears as an expression of Islamism is, in reality, a mechanism to test loyalty, intimidate dissenters, and justify aggression against those questioning extremist narratives. By framing this slogan as a moral litmus test, Islamist groups create a psychological environment where ordinary citizens are coerced into silence or participation, while any challenge is labeled as anti-Islamic. This subtle manipulation transforms everyday spaces into potential flashpoints for violence, making the campaign an effective precursor to communal riots against Hindus.
Local leftist and minority-supporting political establishments often enable these actions under the guise of protecting minority rights, effectively providing political cover. By turning a blind eye or even tacitly supporting public displays of radical symbols, these governments capitalize on Islamist mobilization to secure vote banks. The consequences are twofold: Hindus and nationalist citizens face intimidation for exercising basic rights, while extremist elements gain legitimacy and public visibility, emboldening them to escalate tensions further.
The misuse of Bharat’s judicial loopholes is another critical dimension. Islamist groups frequently invoke ‘minority rights’ and secular protection to challenge lawful enforcement or to resist accountability. In many instances, blatant anti-national slogans, pro-Palestine or pro-Pakistan flags, and blasphemous acts in public spaces are tolerated under legal pretexts, while citizens practicing their faith, particularly Hindus, are questioned or restrained. This selective enforcement fosters a sense of impunity among extremists and undermines public trust in the judicial and administrative systems designed to ensure equality and justice.
Beyond slogans and flags, the campaign’s symbolic violence, from desecrating statues to provocative processions, exposes the deep-rooted intention to intimidate Hindu communities and assert dominance under the guise of peace. What is propagated as a harmless expression of faith is, in fact, a rehearsed strategy of psychological and physical coercion, systematically laying the foundations for mass violence against Hindus across Bharat.
Maulana threatens police officer on camera, Bareilly
As per OpIndia, the most alarming scene came from Bareilly, where police removed provocative posters reading ‘I Love Muhammad‘ to prevent communal tension. In response, hundreds from the community surrounded the officers. IMC leader Dr Nafees Khan arrived at the spot and, in a viral video, issued death threats to the inspector in uniform, shouting “Tere haath kaat loonga, teri vardi utarwaa doonga.”
Police confirmed that an FIR has been registered against Nafees Khan under serious charges. Authorities warned that no attempt to disrupt law and order will be tolerated. This incident reveals how quickly a religious slogan was weaponised to intimidate police and challenge state authority.
Violence spreads stone-pelting in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh
The contagion of street violence soon spread. In Kashipur (Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand), mobs attacked police, hurled stones, and vandalized government vehicles during an illegal ‘I Love Muhammad‘ march. Over 400 people were booked, 15 arrested, and illegal structures demolished where rioters had gathered, a decisive administrative response.
In Unnao, hundreds marched without permission, chanting ‘Sar Tan Se Juda‘ and assaulting officers. Inspector Ajay Kumar Singh’s uniform was torn in the melee. In Kannauj, similar extremist slogans echoed after Friday prayers, proving that these were not isolated outbursts but part of a coordinated radical campaign.
Godhra flare-up: police station attacked
In Godhra (Gujarat), a city still scarred by memories of past communal carnage, radical mobs again erupted in violence on 19 September 2025. When police summoned a local influencer for spreading provocative content, hundreds of his supporters stormed the B-Division police station, vandalized property, broke windows,, and hurled stones at officers. Law enforcement had to use tear gas and lathi charge to regain control. The incident exposed the deep-rooted culture of mob defiance inspired by extremist clerics.
Political fanning of flames: Owaisi and Tauqeer Raza’s incitement
Instead of calming tensions, some Islamist politicians justified and glorified the unrest. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi romanticised the slogan, posting poetic lines on X that glorified devotion to the Prophet, while IMC president Tauqeer Raza openly threatened mass street protests if Muslims were stopped from using the slogan. His statement, “Agar Musalman sadon par aa gaya to mulk mein kya haalat banenge”, was a veiled warning of nationwide chaos. Such rhetoric emboldened mobs and gave ideological backing to street violence already underway.
The Kanpur spark truth behind the FIR
Propaganda networks falsely claimed that police in Kanpur booked people merely for displaying I Love Muhammad banners. In reality, the FIR stemmed from vandalism of Hindu religious posters during a Barawafat procession. According to the complaint, Muslim youths deliberately tore down a Hindu poster with sticks while passing through a Hindu locality. Thus, the case was about religious desecration and provocation, not love for a prophet. Yet, by twisting facts, Islamist organisations manufactured outrage and mobilized crowds under the victimhood narrative.
‘I Love Muhammad’ in Karnataka; eight arrested
A violent clash erupted in Karl Marx Nagar, Davangere district of Karnataka, after a banner reading I Love Muhammad was put up in the area. The incident occurred on September 24; and the dispute soon escalated into violence, with reports alleging stone-pelting on Hindu households. Following the unrest, police forces were deployed in large numbers to restore order and prevent further escalation.
Eight held; police warn against rumour-mongering
As per Jagran, in connection with the incident, Karnataka Police have arrested eight individuals and registered three FIRs against nearly 100 persons involved in the communal violence. Authorities have formed four special investigation teams to track down those responsible for disturbing peace and spreading communal hatred. Police have issued a stern warning against spreading rumors or provocative messages, stating that strict action will be taken against anyone attempting to disrupt harmony.
How blasphemy allegations are weaponised against Hindus
Across Bangladesh and Pakistan, allegations of blasphemy are weaponized to justify large-scale violence against vulnerable Hindu minorities. As per India Today, in Bangladesh’s Rangpur, a 17-year-old’s alleged Facebook post insulting Prophet Muhammad triggered mob attacks on 15 Hindu homes, forcing families to flee. In Moulvibazar, 23-year-old Bikash Dhar Deepta was arrested for allegedly making objectionable remarks. Similar misuse of cyber and blasphemy laws has led to harsh sentences, as seen in 2020, when Jibon Krishna Roy received seven years’ imprisonment for alleged derogatory comments online. The infamous Nasirnagar attack of 2016, where a morphed Facebook image was cited as blasphemy, resulted in the destruction of 19 temples and nearly 300 Hindu homes. Such incidents expose how fabricated or exaggerated claims are routinely used as pretexts for communal violence.
Framing the victims as perpetrators
In every such episode, the narrative begins with the accusation that a Hindu has insulted Islam or the Prophet, framing Hindus as aggressors and mobs as ‘defenders of faith.’ Local and international media often amplify these claims before verification, legitimizing violence as an act of piety. Fact-checkers who challenge such fabrications are dismissed as biased, while officials downplay the communal nature of the violence as ‘politically motivated.’ This narrative engineering not only silences Hindu voices but also instills deep fear within the community. Over time, the repetitive cycle of accusation, outrage, and violence normalizes collective punishment and erodes any space for dissent or justice.
From slogan to street violence
The unfolding events show a familiar pattern: a symbolic slogan is used to occupy public spaces, the state’s lawful restraint is misrepresented as oppression, and clerics or politicians then inflame passions to unleash mobs. The I Love Muhammad campaign has thus become less about faith and more about testing the limits of law and intimidating the majority Hindu community. From Bareilly to Godhra, radical elements have turned a phrase into a pretext for aggression, echoing earlier Islamist strategies witnessed in Bangladesh and Pakistan, where imagined insults to Muhammad have repeatedly led to riots and attacks on minorities.
We must remember who we are, the people of Bharat, born as Hindus, rooted in a civilization that has always embraced all faiths. Hindu Dharma is not just a religion but a timeless way of life that shaped this land. Infiltrators and extremists cannot suppress or rewrite our dharmic values. Hindus are the true seculars; they never force, threaten, or convert others, unlike Islamist radicals who exploit blasphemy and coercion to spread fear. Yet, our silence is being mistaken for weakness. This silence must end, for every provocation and false blasphemy charge is an attack not only on Hindus but on the very spirit of Bharat itself.
