Srinagar, Sep 24 (IANS) J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took strong exception to the FIR lodged by police in UP’s Kanpur for use of the expression “I love Muhammad”.

Abdullah has questioned the legality of the FIR and also the mental stability of the people who believe such an expression is “unlawful”.

The controversy started on September 9, when Kanpur police registered an FIR against nine persons named and 15 others unidentified for allegedly putting up boards reading “I Love Muhammad” on a road during the ‘Eid Milad-un-Nabi’ (Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday) procession on September 4.

Hindu organisations objected, calling it a “new trend” and claiming it was a deliberate provocation.

The issue drew national attention after AIMIM chief, Asaduddin Owaisi, posted on social media that expressing “I Love Muhammad” was not a crime.

Abdullah said it must mean someone is “truly mentally unwell” to file a case over these three words and hoped for the court’s intervention.

“Why should anyone object to writing this? Who can have an issue with these three words? I cannot understand how writing these three words can lead to an arrest. It must mean someone is truly mentally unwell to file a case over these three words. I would like the courts to quickly set this right.”

“How is writing ‘I Love Muhammad’ unlawful?” Omar Abdullah told reporters.

He said even if linked to a particular religion, writing ‘I Love Muhammad’ should not be an issue, as people of other faiths also express devotion to their gurus or deities.

“Even if you link it to a religion, what is wrong with it? Don’t followers of other religions write about their deities? Don’t our Sikh brothers and sisters write about their gurus? Don’t our Hindu brothers and sisters write about their various gods? They do.”

“Go anywhere outside Jammu and Kashmir, and you will hardly find a vehicle without a picture of a deity. If that is not unlawful, then how is this?” Abdullah asked.

Muslims across the world regard the personage of the Prophet of Islam in the highest reverence, and any disrespectful reference to the Prophet is treated as blasphemous.

–IANS

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