Posters reading “I Love Muhammad” and green Islamic flags recovered from a demolished mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal have led to criminal charges against eight Muslims, raising questions over the policing of Islamic expression in BJP-ruled states. Police filed a case after recovering the posters and flags from the roughly 150-year-old Mustafa Qadri Mosque in Kaserua village, which was demolished over the weekend.
The eight accused include the mosque’s mutawalli, or caretaker. Police said they recovered 49 posters and a green flag bearing a crescent and star during Saturday’s demolition drive. The FIR, registered at Nakhasa Police Station under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), names mosque mutawalli Zakir and seven members of the mosque committee. Section 353(2) covers the deliberate creation or circulation of false information, rumours, or alarming content intended to promote hatred or enmity between communities.
Sambhal Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Bishnoi said authorities seized the posters and flags and have opened an investigation into who placed them inside the mosque and for what purpose. “We have taken the posters and flags into custody. It is being investigated who placed them there and for what purpose,” he said. The case has sparked broader debate, with several Muslim leaders arguing that slogans expressing love for Prophet Muhammad, green religious flags, and Islamic symbolism are routine aspects of religious life, not criminal matters or security concerns.
Political criticism intensified after parliamentarian Ziaur Rahman Barq condemned both the demolition and the subsequent FIR. “I will say ‘I Love Muhammad.’ If you have courage, hang me,” he reportedly said. Barq argued that the demolition violated rights guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution and contravened the Places of Worship Act.
As news of the FIR in Sambhal spread, criticism mounted on social media. Many users questioned why items routinely found inside mosques, including religious literature, Islamic calligraphy, Qur’anic verses, were being treated as matters requiring police investigation. “A Mosque was demolished where the authority seized a poster written ‘I Love Muhammad PBHU’ and some Islamic flags, probe is on. So these simple posters are illegal? Is Islam banned in UP?” Haque wrote.
While police have defended the registration of the FIR and continue to investigate the matter, the controversy has fuelled concerns about religious freedom in the country and the criminalisation of ordinary expressions of faith, particularly those of Muslims.
The incident adds to a growing number of disputes in parts of India where mosque demolitions, Islamic symbols, and public expressions of Muslim identity have intersected with policing, legal battles, and political confrontation. Muslim groups have voiced concern over what they describe as increasing scrutiny of religious expression.