Distributor arrested after Prophet Muhammad image in Class IV textbook sparks protest in Hyderabad

On Sunday, 8 October, tension prevailed in Hyderabad after several people came out to the streets in protest against the depiction of Prophet Muhammed in the textbook.

Islam has proscribed the depiction of the Prophet in any form since it is against idolatry and adheres to the principles of aniconism, as opposed to public iconography followed by Christianity, Hinduism, and many religions.

A similar depiction of the Prophet led to the shooting at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, which killed at least 12 people — including satirical caricaturist Stephane Jean-Abel Michel Charbonnier — on 7 January, 2015. The shooting had triggered a discussion on iconography.

Complainant holds school responsible

The Kalapathar police said they registered the case based on a complaint by one Mohammed Asif. The picture that the complainant shared with South First depicted the Prophet along with other religious figures.

Members of the Muslim community protesting over the pictorial representation of Prophet Muhammad. (Screengrab/X)

The book that carried the illustration was introduced in the second semester of the “Space Semester Series” for Class IV students.

“In the history section of the Social Sciences textbook, the publishers pictorially represented the Prophet. But in history, there has been no image of the Prophet or his portrait. Both publisher and school management have insulted our religion by publishing the image,” Asif told South First.

He further said that the school distributed the book among students a few days ago. He noticed the picture in the book of the nephew of his friend.

“I complained after discussing it with him. I spoke to my relatives and friends, who were also shocked to see this (picture). The book was printed in Visakhapatnam. The distributors also have sent the book to its branches in Mumbai and Chennai,” he said.

Holding the school management equally responsible in the case, Asif demanded an immediate stop to the circulation of the book. “The school management is also involved since no book could be added to the syllabus without their permission,” he added.

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Distributor arrested

Kalapathar’s Station House Officer (SHO) P Dali Naidu told South First that an individual named Ravi Reddy, the director of Deepthi Book Distributors, which is associated with Amigos, has been arrested.

Protest in Hyderabad on Sunday. (Supplied)

“Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is highly revered and holds the utmost significance in Islam. The image or portrayal of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in any form is strictly forbidden as it goes against the principles and values, and also anguishes the Muslim community. It also undermines the religious beliefs and hurts sentimentally,” said the FIR.

The case against Amigos and St Marks Boys Town School management was registered under IPC Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

A staff member of Deepthi Book Distributors said the organisation was unaware of the case.

“We do not have any idea about the case or where this book has been circulated. We just collect the books and distribute them,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Also read: Teacher transferred for asking Muslim students to ‘go to Pakistan’

Previous instances

Asif said members of the community protested against the Prophet’s depiction in front of the Kalapathar police station. “Protests were also held at Falaknuma, Tappachabutra, and other areas of the city,” he said.

Incidentally, such protests were earlier reported from several parts of the world.

In 2007, Swedish artist Lars Vilks’ depiction of the Prophet was widely criticised by Muslims across the globe. He reportedly received several death threats. Al-Qaeda in Iraq even put a price of $100,000 on his head.

In March 2021, a school at Batley in the United Kingdom’s West Yorkshire was at the receiving end after a teacher depicted the Prophet. The school apologised and the teacher was suspended.

In 2005, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, which also resulted in widespread protests.

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What does Islamic tradition say?

Islamic tradition prohibits the creation of images depicting Allah and the Prophet, and discourages any other figurative depictions of living beings — especially humans.

However, the Shias are lenient in this matter. Reproductions of the Prophet’s images, primarily from the seventh-century Persia, could be found in Shiite culture.

The Quran does not explicitly ban the creation of images of Allah or the Prophet through carving, painting, or drawing.

Nonetheless, Chapter 42, Verse 11 of the Quran mentions that “[Allah is] the originator of the heavens and the earth… [there is] nothing like a likeness of Him.”

Muslims interpret this as Allah’s beauty and grandeur cannot be captured in human-made images, and attempting to do so is considered disrespectful to Allah. The same principle is believed to apply to Prophet Muhammad.

Chapter 21, Verses 52-54 of the Quran recount an episode involving Prophet Abraham, where he questions the worship of idols by his father and people. This narrative has led Muslims to believe that images have the potential to lead to idolatry, where the image itself becomes the object of worship instead of the God it represents.