On Friday, the members of the Christian community offered rose flowers to the Islamists who had arrived at the Yatimkhana Masjid in Kanpur for Namaz amid the alleged blasphemy Row. The Christian people accompanied by a few Islamists and the city Police could be seen waiting for the people who had come to offer Namaz at the Mosque.
In a video shared by the Hindustan Times, the members of the Christian community could also be seen holding the plates of red roses waiting for the Islamists to come out of the Mosque after their Friday prayers. This is days after severe violence erupted in the city of Kanpur as Islamists protested against ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her alleged ‘blasphemous’ remarks.
Members of Christian community, civil society gave rose flowers to namazis after Friday prayers outside Yatimkhana masjid in Kanpur pic.twitter.com/eZu0P13lqL
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) June 17, 2022
On June 3, the Muslim community in Kanpur called for a shutdown in the area around Mosque to protest against Sharma. The Islamists gathered after their Friday prayers and pelted stones against the Police and the civilians injuring many. Similar protests were carried out by the Islamists in various parts of Uttar Pradesh disturbing the law and order and peace.
Nupur Sharma in a TV debate had made some comments as per the Islamic texts on Prophet Muhammad that irked the Muslims. She argued that since people are mocking the Hindu faith repeatedly, the Hindus can also mock other religions by referring to Islamic beliefs and the life of Prophet Muhammad. Her statement was taken out of context by Alt News co-founder and alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, who released an army of trolls and Islamists after Sharma.
Multiple FIRs have been registered against Sharma and open calls for her death have also been made. She also is in reciept of threats from extremist organizations across the border. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) supporters from Pakistan has announced a cash reward of Pakistani Rupees 5 million (Around 19.5 lakhs INR) to anyone who would behead Nupur for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’. Also, the terrorist organisations like the Al Qaeda have threatened to conduct a suicide attack in India over Sharma’s remarks.
It is important to note that amid severe Islamist death threats to Sharma, the Christian community in Kanpur has stepped up to distribute roses to Islamists after their Friday prayers out of love and concern. A couple of days ago, musician Vishal Dadlani had also shared a message of love for Indian Muslims saying that they were ‘seen, heard, loved and treasured’.
“I want to say this to Indian Muslims on behalf of a majority of Indian Hindus. You are seen and heard, loved and treasured. Your pain is our pain. Your patriotism is not in question, your identity is not a threat to India or anyone else’s religion. We are one Nation, one family”, he had tweeted. The message shared by him ‘on behalf of all the Hindus’ also stated that the identity of Muslims was not at all a threat to India or any other religion.
The Nupur Sharma controversy is still burning in India with Islamists coming out violently on the streets. Staging protests in various parts of the country, Islamists are either demanding the immediate arrest of Nupur Sharma or are demanding her death. Severe Islamist protests against Sharma have so far been executed in Indian cities of Kanpur, Prayagraj, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Solapur (Maharashtra), and Ludhiana (Punjab), Belagavi (Karnataka), and also in the states of West Bengal and Jharkhand.
