On Tuesday, the Telangana Police arrested Raja Singh, BJP MLA from Goshamahal for his alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad. This came hours after the Police booked the leader for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the Islamist community.
According to the reports, severe protests broke out in Hyderabad last night at South Zone DCP office where protesters demanded immediate action against Singh. Singh on Monday had posted a video in which he, according to the Islamists, used abusive language towards the Prophet Muhammad.
BREAKING: BJP MLA Raja Singh arrested for Prophet comments under 3 sections of IPC pic.twitter.com/2MIAVsPfGN
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 23, 2022
Several people then gathered at the South Zone DCP office in Hyderabad and staged a protest against the BJP MLA. Hundreds of them shouted Islamists slogans like, “Allah-hu-Akbar”, “Gustakh E Rasool ki ek he saza sar tan sejuda, sar tan se juda” and demanded the arrest of Raja Singh. They also yelled slogans like, “Raja Singh Murdabad, Murdabad” and reiterated that the BJP MLA had allegedly insulted the Muslim community and their God.
#BreakingNews Communal Tension in Hyderabad: Syed Abdahu Kashaf takes up the protest with slogan “Gustak E Rasool saw ki ek he saza sar tan sejuda.. “ against BJP MLA at Hyderabad City Police commisoner. We demand immediate arrest of BJP MLA Raja Singh. pic.twitter.com/MQTcRY6xby
— Syed Abdahu Kashaf (@syedKashaf95) August 23, 2022
The protests were reportedly led by Syed Abdahu Kashaf who calls himself a political strategist and Social and Civil Rights Activist. After Singh’s arrest on August 23, he posted a video congratulating all the Islamists of the city and said, “we made it a national issue and it happened”. He also thanked the Hyderabad Police for taking swift action against the BJP MLA who is accused of passing blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
Alhamdulillah Raja singh has arrested. We made it a National issue and it happened . Thank you @CPHydCity sir & @rameshmasthi sir. pic.twitter.com/IOOyQucCkW
— Syed Abdahu Kashaf (@syedKashaf95) August 23, 2022
Syed Abdahu Kashaf is a Jawaharlal Nehru University pass out and works as a Digital Content Creator at Crimson Media Company. He seems to be associated with the AIMIM party and its supremo Asaduddin Owaisi as he has worked as Social media Head of the party from 2012 to 2019.
Earlier today, the Police booked the BJP MLA under IPC section 153A (Promoting enmity between two groups) and similar sections at the Dabeerpura police station. DCP South Zone, P Sai Chaitanya confirmed the action and said that the Police has begun the investigation into the case.
To note, the arrest comes a day after Syed Abdahu Kashaf instigated the Islamists to gather around the South Zone DCP office and protest against the BJP leader. On Monday night, he posted a video saying that he had received calls from many Islamist people who complained about the remarks made by Singh. He said that the Islamists would go on indefinite hunger strike if Singh is not arrested. “We want him to get arrested by today. He should be charged under various sections of 153, 153-A, 188, 295-A, 298, 505 (1) (B) (C), 505 (2), and 506 of IPC”, he said on August 22.
Dear @CPHydCity Sir If Raja Singh is not arrested till today we will call for Indefinite Hunger-Strike. We want him to get arrested by today. He should be charged under various sections of 153, 153-A, 188, 295-A, 298, 505 (1) (B) (C), 505 (2) and 506 of IPC.
— Syed Abdahu Kashaf (@syedKashaf95) August 22, 2022
Cc : @hydcitypolice pic.twitter.com/IrZ8wFHHnj
In another video, he could be seen raising ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans and instigating hundreds of Islamists to continue protests outside the South Zone DCP office. Speaking to India Today on Tuesday, he further said that he had no regret in using the ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogan to protest against the alleged blasphemous remarks. “Hyderabad is controlled by us”, he added.
“Hyderabad is controlled by us,” says @syedKashaf95, an influencer leading the ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ protests in Hyderabad. Tells @Akshita_N he has no remorse/regret in using the slogan to protest against prophet comments. pic.twitter.com/5RwHxsoqs3
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 23, 2022
Reports mention that the Islamists who protested outside the South Zone DCP office also offered Namaz in the area and continued to protest till Tuesday morning. The Hyderabad Police has reportedly detained hundreds for disturbing the peace and harmony in the area. Meanwhile, now arrested BJP MLA Raja Singh clarified that his statements are being misinterpreted and that he did not mean what he said. He added that he did not take anyone’s name in the video and that the Islamists were protesting based on what they assumed the video could be.
“I will soon release one more video. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Why has an FIR been filed against me? Are our Hindu Gods not important to us? Multiple FIRs have been filed against me and I don’t know why”, he said.
विवादित बयान पर टी राजा सिंह गिरफ्तार
— AajTak (@aajtak) August 23, 2022
ज्यादा जानकारी दे रहे हैं आजतक संवाददाता @Journo_Abdul#ATVideo #Hyderabad| @ARPITAARYA pic.twitter.com/ToxHEC459t
Six persons faced the wrath of ‘sar tan se juda’ ideology
To note, a similar incident happened in India when former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma uttered allegedly blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad creating worldwide outrage. The outrage escalated after Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair shared an edited clip of Sharma on social media and instigated the Islamists to take action against the lady. The Islamists initially in India and then all over the world raised ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans and demanded the immediate elimination of Sharma.
This growing radicalized outcry had overtaken the streets of the country, with people found in support of Nupur Sharma’s statement getting condemned brutally. Six people to date, including Amravati’s Umesh Kolhe, Rajasthan’s Kanhaiya Lal, Madhya Pradesh’s Nishank Rathore, etc have faced the wrath of the ‘sar tan se juda’ ideology.
Also recently, the ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans were raised by Islamists in a Muharram procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district. The incident happened on August 10 when the participants in the procession began yelling offensive chants. While one person could be heard shouting the Islamist war cry ‘gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se juda sar tan se juda’, some others shouted, ‘gustakh-e-nabi ka sir chahiye’ (We want the head of the one who insulted the Prophet).
मध्य प्रदेश के खंडवा में मोहर्रम के जुलूस के दौरान कथित तौर से ‘सर तन से जुदा’ का विवादित नारा लगाया गया। वीडियो वायरल होने पर अब पुलिस ने कार्रवाई की बात कही है।#MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/SKKIAZhbSh
— Hindustan (@Live_Hindustan) August 11, 2022
Celebrity Islamists do not condemn ‘Sar tan se juda’
Pertinently, even Islamist celebrities, like financial fraud accused Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub, The Wire’s Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Radio Mirchi RJ Sayema or even Alt News’ Mohammad Zubair for that matter – none have said it in as many words that so-called blasphemy should not be punishable with death.
In fact, they all ‘condemn’ alleged blasphemous statements and call it bigotry but never ask their coreligionists to not kill over them. Recently, when Salman Rushdie, author of allegedly blasphemous book The Satanic Verses, was stabbed in New York, Rana Ayyub tweeted wishing for his recovery, but deleted the wish hours later after Islamists cancelled her Muslim card for wishing well upon a ‘blasphemer’. While she claimed it was not because of Islamists, but she never again wished full recovery for Rushdie, and has not even said how he should not have been attacked for ‘blasphemy’.
AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan calling for beheading of Swami Yati
In April 2021, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan had also called for the beheading of Dasna Devi Temple head priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati for his alleged critical remarks on Prophet Muhammad. “We can not tolerate such impertinence for our beloved Prophet Muhammad. This hateful insect should be awarded the most severe punishment by slitting his tongue and neck. But the law of the land does not permit us to do this, we have faith in the Indian constitution, and I want Delhi Police to take note of this,” Amanatullah Khan had tweeted along with the video of Narsinghanand Saraswati where he criticized the Islamic prophet.
Later, several videos surfaced on social media showing scores of children calling for the beheading of Swami Yati. The children, who did not look a year older than 7 or 8, a carried poster of Swami Yati garlanded with footwear and raised slogans- “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan se juda, sar tan se juda”.
All that led to Kamlesh Tiwari’s murder is happening all over again. Makes me sick pic.twitter.com/C76T7uFG1G
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) April 11, 2021
Reports mention that the slogan ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool Ki Ek Hi Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda, Sar Tan Se Juda’ was first raised in Pakistan in the year 2011 when the governor of the Punjab province of Pakistan, Salman Taseer was murdered by his guard Mumtaz Qadri who disagreed with Taseer’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
However, it was first used in India 5 years ago when Kamlesh Tiwari of Lucknow gave a statement about Prohpet Muhammad. As reported earlier, Tiwari was murdered by the Islamists who stabbed him 15 times and left him with two deep cut marks on the neck, reflecting attempts to slit his throat.
In the current case, an FIR has been registered against Raja Singh, BJP MLA from Goshamahal for his alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad. The Police have also arrested the BJP leader and are investigating the case amid severe protests in the city.
