Image Courtesy:english.newstracklive.com
On May 29, 2022, the president of Shibli College students union Abdul Rehman was arrested by police in Azamgarh district for protesting against Nupur Sharma on account of offensive remarks made by her against Prophet Muhammed. A day before that Mumbai Police registered an FIR against Nupur Sharma based on a complaint made by Irfan Shaikh, joint secretary of the Mumbai wing of Raza Academy, reported the Indian Express. However, she has still not been arrested.
Rehman’s speech, laced with anger and threats, came to light as his video went viral on social media where he expressed his strong disapproval of the remarks made by Nupur Sharma on a prime time debate show on National Television (Times Now) He is heard addressed the “youth to stand up for their faith and speak up against such remarks.”
In the video he is caught saying, “She (Nupur Sharma) has committed blasphemy and insulted our Prophet. The situation of Muslims is such that their hands are chopped if the Holy number of ‘786’ is engraved on it or if they post a picture of lynching. But when the honour of our Prophet is compromised, no Muslim comes forward (to avenge it). Why? Because we have become scared, complacent and cowards,”. He further goes on to claim that he is willing to trample 80 crore Hindus under his feet if he has to for such such remarks made against Prophet Muhammed.
According to the Times of India, a case has been lodged against Rehman under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) for fanning hatred with his speech.
The video may be viewed here:
शिबली नेशनल कालेज आज़मगढ़ के छात्रसंघ अध्यक्ष अब्दुर रहमान भाई को कल शाम शिब्ली नेशनल कॉलेज आज़मगढ़ के गेट पर दिये गए बयान के खिलाफ @azamgarhpolice प्रशासन गिरफ्तार कर के कोतवाली ले गयी है !!!#IStandwithAbdurrahman pic.twitter.com/A6GIGG3A3N
— Shaikh Adil Azmi شیخ عادل اعظمی (@IamShaikhAdil) May 29, 2022
On the other hand, former BJP leader and now a member of AIMIM (Inquilab) Hyderabad-based party, Qavi Abbasi announced a reward price of Rs. 1 crore to any Muslims who kills BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her blasphemous comment on Prophet Mohammed reported the Siasat Daily.
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma was heard on a prime time debate on Times Now saying, “They should be told to shut up and stop insulting our religion. Otherwise, we are also capable of hitting them where it hurts. They may call it a fountain as much as they want but the reality is that even Supreme Court ordered immediate protection of the area…..claims made in Quran about your flying horses… that the earth is flat …should I make fun of it? What about Prophet Muhammad marrying a six-year-old child and having sex with her when she was nine?” In the debate, she has tried to use these anti-Muslim slurs to outshout another speaker who then calls her “ill mannered woman”. The anchor Navika Kumar, did not interject to stop hate mongering from any of the speakers, but concludes the shouting match by saying if the structure in Gyanvapi mosque cannot be called a Shivling, it can not be called a fountain. The essence of the debate was, ‘since people are mocking the Hindu faith they could also mock other religions.’
The issue came to light when Alt news founder Mohammad Zubair shared a recording of the debate show on Twitter. The video maybe viewed here:
Prime Time debates in India have become a platform to encourage hate mongers to speak ill about other religions. @TimesNow‘s Anchor @navikakumar is encouraging a rabid communal hatemonger & a BJP Spokesperson to speak rubbish which can incite riots.
Shame on you @vineetjaintimes pic.twitter.com/lrUlkHEJp5— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) May 27, 2022
Times Now, instead of correcting its own anchor has reportedly stated that “Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair allegedly took the chunk of the video where Nupur talked about other religions referring to Islamic beliefs, and shared it on Twitter with out of context narrative calling her ‘communal hatemonger.’”
Moreover, the full video of the debate as posted on Times Now’s Youtube channel was immediately taken down soon after it was alleged by BJP’s Nupur Sharma that the clipping of the viral video, recording her remarks on Prophet Muhammed, shared by Alt News co-founder Mohammaed Zubair, was heavily edited.
The video was made private by @TimesNow a day after BJP spokesperson alleged that I “heavily edited” the video. We’ve download the full video though. https://t.co/uDx5xpwTRf pic.twitter.com/hBDqmSWgzx
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) May 28, 2022
Nupur Sharma has claimed that she is being bombarded with rape, death and beheading threats against her sister, mother, father & herself.
:@DelhiPolice @CPDelhi I am getting continuous death and beheading threats against my family and myself which are egged on by @zoo_bear because of his attempts to incite communal passions and vitiate the atmosphere by building a fake narrative.
Attaching a few pics. Please note. pic.twitter.com/QmgA2uRCrS
— Nupur Sharma (@NupurSharmaBJP) May 27, 2022
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