Kolkata Muslims remain silent while the “I Love Muhammad ﷺ” slogan spreads across India. From Kanpur to Mumbai, the chant has become a movement, yet Kolkata stands still in fearful silence.
By Dr. Mohammad Farooque
Kolkata, September 25, 2025
Kolkata has become the name of silence in a time when the words “I Love Muhammad ﷺ” have shaken the foundations of India. It all began in Kanpur, where writing this phrase during the Barah Wafat procession was criminalized through an FIR. What should have been seen as a harmless declaration of love for the Prophet ﷺ was twisted into a threat to communal harmony. But the state’s overreaction had the opposite effect. Instead of dying down, the slogan caught fire, spreading from Bareilly to Mumbai, from Gujarat to Telangana, until it became not just ink on walls but a call of faith embedded in the hearts of young Muslims.
Numbers tell the story: twenty-four booked in Kanpur, humiliation parades and arrests in Gujarat where banners were raised, with 17 jailed and 88 more charged. In Mumbai, even heavy rain could not stop thousands from pouring into the streets to proclaim their devotion. In Bareilly, imams urged families to put posters on their homes. Everywhere, the words “I Love Muhammad ﷺ” turned into a symbol of resistance and belief.
And yet, in this chorus, Kolkata has chosen silence. A city with one of the largest Muslim populations, but one where the soul feels buried. While Muslims across India faced jail and police brutality to declare their loyalty, Kolkata’s Muslims remained locked in obedience to Mamata Banerjee and her party. Her word has become their command. When told not to resist moves against Waqf, they comply. When told not to protest, they bow. When asked to celebrate Raksha Bandhan, they send their women to the streets to tie rakhis. Even Eid sermons appear to follow her signals. And so, on the matter of “I Love Muhammad ﷺ”, not a whisper has come forth. Faith has been traded for fear, the fear of political reprisal outweighing devotion to the Prophet ﷺ.
It is true that love for the Prophet ﷺ is not only about slogans but about obedience and following his Sunnah. Words without practice remain incomplete. Yet how tragic it is that even the verbal declaration of love has become a crime. Shouldn’t Kolkata’s Muslims, at the very least, have had the courage to speak? To declare their loyalty to their Prophet ﷺ, even if only with their tongues?
The real tragedy is that while the rest of India burns with protest, Kolkata remains sunk in cowardice and submission. This silence itself is a verdict — that nearly all of Bengal’s Muslims have surrendered their dignity and honor to political masters. And when honor dies, a people live on only as corpses. This is not just about a slogan; it is a measure of faith. A city from which not one voice rises is a city that survives only upon the graves of its own belief. Today, Kolkata Muslims stand as mourners at the burial of their dignity.
