Prior to his arrest by the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection to the gruesome murder of Kishan Bharwad, Maulana Qamar Gani Usmani had urged Islamists to continue to ‘defend’ the honour of Prophet Muhammad without any semblance of fear.
In a video that has now surfaced on social media, the radical Islamic cleric can be heard as saying, “I am being taken into custody. I will co-operate if the cops want to conduct an inquiry…You, Muslims have nothing to be fearful of. Hold steadfast to Tehreek-Farogh-E-Islam and continue to use ‘constitutional means.'”
“We cannot let them succeed. Come forward with all your strength and might. Even if I stay in jail, you should not abort the mission,” he ordered. At this point, a man in the background alleged that the said mission was that of ensuring ‘peace, brotherhood, and security in the country.
“Whatever is happening in India right now must stop. We must co-exist peacefully like in old times,” the cleric who instigated the murder of Kishan Bharwad claimed. He then made an appeal to other Islamic clerics to not ‘live under the illusion of safety.’
“If you think that you are safe, then, you are mistaken. No one is safe. They have chalked out plans for everyone. Today, if we cannot stand to defend the honour of Prophet Muhammad using ‘legal means’, then, remember that everyone’s time will come. They will not spare anyone and have made plans accordingly,” he cautioned.
The Islamic cleric suggested, “It is important that we stand for our rights and use them today. And we must stop those who are planning to use illegal means to achieve the objectives.”
Maulana Usmani wanted to avenge ‘blasphemy’, was greeted with chants of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’
A video from August 2021 was earlier shared on Twitter by journalist Swati Goel Sharma. In the video, Delhi police personnel were seen desperately trying to stop Maulana Usmani from holding anti-blasphemy protests. “We will go anyhow (to protest) since we have made a call to the public,” he was seen announcing.
“We will not listen to you. Insults have been hurled against our Prophet. We will not keep calm. What do you think? You will intimidate us by filing cases”, the radical Islamic cleric said.
“On August 8, it was said that Allah will be cut down and you have come here to teach me the law. What happened to the implementation of laws then? I don’t want to talk about it further. You can do whatever you want”, Maulana Usmani told the Delhi police.
In another video shared by journalist Swati Goel Sharma, the Islamist, who abetted the gruesome murder of Kishan Bharwad, was greeted by his co-religionists with slogans calling for the beheading of ‘blasphemers’.
“Nabi ke hum Ghulam hai. Gustaak-e-Nabi ki ek ki saza sarr tann se juda (We are the slaves of Prophet Muhammad. There is only one punishment for blasphemy – decapacitating the head from the rest of the body),” yelled his supporters.
Maulana Qamar Ghani Usmani of Tahreek-Farogh-E-Islam was garlanded, showered with petals and cheered on by Islamists as he walked the streets of Mumbai.
Islamic cleric had justified the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari
In February 2021, Usmani had justified the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari. He had said, “There is a conspiracy to ruin the lives of Muslims. There is an attempt to make India just like Spain. To achieve it, they are testing how much Muslims in India love their Prophet. This is why Kamlesh Tiwari was asked to do blasphemy. If you remember, that time people had come to roads to protest. There was fear someone would kill Tiwari, so he was sent to prison.”
He added it was not a punishment but an attempt to save Kamlesh Tiwari from getting killed. Tiwari was killed in cold blood by two Islamists in Lucknow on October 18, 2019. They had posed as Hindu activists and had carried weapons inside boxes of sweets.
