In a joint operation, Gujarat Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Mumbai Police arrested prominent Islamic preacher Mufti Salman Azhari in Mumbai on 4 February, Sunday. The arrest came in connection with an alleged inflammatory speech made by Mufti Salman in Gujarat’s Junagadh, which had circulated online.
The arrest triggered chaotic scenes outside the Ghatkopar police station, where Mufti Salman was detained. Hundreds of his supporters gathered, leading to a lathicharge by the police followed by FIRs against their alleged unruly behavior.
Maulana Azhari urged his supporters (from within the police station) not to protest against his detention. He requested them to vacate the police station premises, emphasizing the importance of maintaining law and order. He asserted his innocence and expressed cooperation with the ongoing investigation.
Mufti Salman, along with two others were booked under Sections 153B (promoting disharmony or hatred between different religious groups, and 505(2) (intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public…, whereby any person may be induced to commit an offense against the State or against the public tranquility) of the Indian Penal Code. Mufti Salman’s lawyer disclosed that around 35 to 40 police personnel arrived at Mufti Salman’s residence in civilian clothes. He was taken to Junagadh on a two-day transit remand.
A New-Age Preacher Shaped by Social Media
Hailing from Hubli, Karnataka, 38-year-old Mufti Salman Azhari graduated from Cairo’s Al Azhar University. What distinguishes him from traditional Ulama (religious scholars) is his ascent to prominence not through mosque sermons but through the power of social media. Son of Maulana Abdul Qayyum, Mufti Salman is from the Sunni BarelviMaslak (school of thought).
The virality of his speeches on social media platforms enabled him to reach a wider audience. He became a celebrity khateeb (speaker) with people inviting him from every corner of the country to give speeches at their programs and conventions. Based in Mumbai, Mufti Salman Azhari ran institutions like the Jamia Riyazul Jannah, Al-Amaan Education and Welfare Trust, and Darul Amaan.
As a fiery orator capable of expressing the frustration and angst of Muslim youth, Mufti Azhari represents a new breed of Islamic preachers who are very popular among the Muslim youth and who know how to leverage the reach and impact of social media to disseminate their messages and connect with their core audiences. Not surprisingly, #ISupportMuftiAzhari trended on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night, underscoring the influence Mufti Salman wields among the digitally connected audience.
The witch-hunt
Mufti Salman Azhari’s troubles increased as the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) filed another FIR against him in Kutch. It is being reported that the Gujarat ATS will also investigate the terror angle in Mufti Salman Azhari’s provocative speech case. The funding sources of Al-Amaan Education and Welfare Trust, run by Azhari, will be examined.
Mohammad Kausar Hasan Siddiqui of the Sufi Khanqah Association alleged that Mufti Salman had links with foreign terrorist organizations and was involved in the Ghazwa-e-Hind project. The Gujarat ATS will investigate Mufti Salman for radicalization and alleged indirect support to terror activities. While Mufti Salman was granted bail in the Junagadh hate speech case, Kutch Police were set to arrest him in another hate speech case filed in Samakhiyali (Kutch district). The organizer of the Samakhiyali event, Mamad Khan Mori, was also booked with the Gujarat Police and ATS investigating the matter jointly.
Clarification by Mufti Salman
Why did the arrest of Mufti Salman Azhari touch a raw nerve? Why did the otherwise reticent Indian Muslim community react so angrily? The speech Mufti Salman made in Junagadh that was deemed inflammatory enough to warrant Sections 153B and 505(2) of the IPC is available on social media. It is reported that his concluding words which were in the form of Urdu poetry aggravated the right wing that started demanding action against Mufti Salman.
The allegedly offensive asha’ar (couplets) recited by Mufti Salman were, “hum se ulajhteyhai, abhi to Karbala ka aakhri maidan bakihai, kuch der ki khamoshihaiphirshoraayegaaajkutto ka waqthai kal hamaradauraayega” (they mess with us, the final battleground of Karbala is still left, there is silence for a while, then there will be noise, today dogs are ruling the roost, tomorrow our time will come).
Taking cognizance of the growing clamor to take action on his speech by right-wing circles, Mufti Salman issued a clarification via his X (Twitter) account saying, “BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi has tweeted on my speech and said that I work to spread hatred against Hindus. Listen to what I said carefully. There is no word Hindu anywhere in the entire statement nor have I targeted any group. However, the BJP spokesperson Trivedi has interpreted it to address the Hindu community and has (therefore by implication) called Hindus dogs. Hence, all Hindus should take action against this spokesperson who is spreading hate.”
Selective application and misuse of the law
We will not go into the wisdom behind what Mufti Salman said in Junagadh, as it would be premature to conclude without access to his speech from original sources. The main reason behind the outrage over the action against Mufti Salman is the selective application and misuse of the law against hate speech.
While we have speakers belonging to the majority community publicly hurling abuses at the Muslim community and calling for arms against them; there is no action taken against them. There have been instances of calls for the genocide of Muslims (Haryana, Uttarakhand, and even New Delhi) without any high-profile arrests, without any condemnation by the ruling elite, and without any criticism by the mainstream media. This is a gross injustice and spells doom for our democracy and fundamental rights.
As a community leader lamented in a recently held press conference, “Muslims are despondent. They are concerned, worried, and feeling suffocated. We appeal to the Muslim community to have patience and endure all this without reacting. But till when can we keep appealing? If the government, the judiciary, and the bureaucracy keep abusing the patience of the Muslim community, then the situation will not be in the control of the Muslim leadership.” As the quote goes, “The worst form of justice is pretended justice.”