#ReleaseSalmanAzhari Trends on Twitter As Muslim Journalists Protest Arrest of Islamic Preacher Salman Azhari
Islamic preacher Salman Azhari's arrest sparks outcry among Muslim journalists, creating controversy.
A motley crowd of Muslims created a ruckus outside the Police Station after Salman Azhari, the Islamic preacher, was arrested by the police. Some Muslim journalists also defended the Islamic radical preacher who had earlier made genocidal remarks against Hindus and asked for his release.
On January 31, 2024, Mufti Salman Azhari gave a very vitriolic speech at a program in the Narayan Vidya Mandir grounds near the Junagadh court. The event was attended by a large number of Muslims in which the Mufti had given a hate speech that could be described as one inciting hatred against the majority community.
The police soon swung into action and arrested Mufti Salman Azhari for his hate-filled speeches. Hours after his arrest, a group of Muslim journalists came out in support of the radical Islamic preacher and asked for the immediate release of the cleric. They have also started the trending #ReleaseSalmanAzhari #IStandWithSalmanAzhari” on X and other social media sites.
One such journalist, Ashraf Hussain, wrote that the cleric was an Islamic preacher and could not be categorized as a criminal. He went on to say that whatever will happen, will happen, and it is the will of Allah.
Another extremist Islamist preacher, Mohammad Asif Khan, said that Mufti Salman Azhari was innocent and became a victim of the smear campaign by the BJP IT Cell.
He also asked the followers of Mufti Salman Azhari to file a case against the IT cell trolls targeting the cleric.
Another scribe, Ali Sohrab, who had behind him a history of vending fake narratives against the majority, also wrote that he stood in support of the Islamic preacher.
Imam Malik, who claims to be a political analyst, brushed off the genocidal statement made by the cleric and said that Mufti Salman Azhari was arrested by Gujarat Police for a poem that contained the word “Dog” in it.
Political commentator Nargis Bano, in a post on her Twitter handle, asked for the immediate release of Mufti Salman Azhari.
WATCH Salman Azhari’s Viral Video
Mufti Salman Azhari had on January 31, 2024, given a very provocative speech at an event attended by a large number of Muslims on the grounds of Narayan Vidya Mandir near the Junagadh court.
A video that has since become viral can be seen in which Mufti Salman Azhari was saying that the battle of Karbala is still unfinished, and today the dogs are ruling, and tomorrow will be our time. This was followed by the war cry “Labbek Ya Rasulullah,” and the crowd repeated after him.
Police have also registered FIR against the Organizers of the event, Muhammad Yusuf Malek, Azim Habib Odedara, along with Mufti Salman Azhari. The cases have been filed under Sections 153(C), 505(2), 188, and 114 of the IPC. The FIR has also included parts of the hate speech that were deemed highly inflammatory, directed against a particular community.
The organizers had also violated the time limit for the event, which went on for much after the time limit had passed. The police have obtained a two-day police remand for Mufti Salman Azhari from the Mumbai Court to investigate the case. The police had applied for a transit remand for two days to take the Islamic cleric to be produced before a court in Junagadh.
The transit remand of Mufti Salman Azhari was opposed by Azhari’s lawyer Arif Siddiqui, who told reporters that the police did not give them the notice which must be given beforehand as per the law.
The Mumbai police have also registered a case against the followers of the cleric who had gathered outside the Ghatkopar police station and also blocked the LBS Road on Sunday night. Incidents of stone-throwing by the cleric’s followers on BEST buses have also been reported.
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