A Muslim organisation has issued a fatwa against Salman Khan for attending a Ganesh puja.
On Tuesday night, the actor was present at the aarti performed by singer Sonu Nigam at the Lalbaugcha Raja mandal, Mumbai's most iconic sarvajanik Ganesh mandal. His visit was widely publicised on television.
Stating that Islam prohibits idol worship, the Bareilly-based Daarul-Ifta-Manjar-e-Islam has said that unless Salman reads the kalmas all over again, he will not be considered Muslim.
The kalmas are the Islamic credo, constituting a declaration of belief that God is one and Mohammed is his prophet.
Salman, who is out on bail in the Chinkara poaching case, also celebrated Ganesh mahostav with his family in Bandra.
The Khan family brought home a Ganesh idol for one-and-a-half days. Matching steps with step-mom Helen, and with his nephew hoisted over his shoulders, the actor was among the group who danced in the procession en route to immersing the idol.
Salam's father Salim Khan reacted strongly to the news of the fatwa : "If these are Muslims then I don't want to be called a Muslim. I want to know how these people are qualified to issue a fatwa against my son. I don't think people who have issued a fatwa against Salman have anything to do with Islam; they don't even know their religion well. Don't they know that the Koran says ' sab ka khuda ek '?
"My family is a cosmopolitan family with members from practically every religion living under one roof. What has my son done? He has gone for an aarti which is not wrong at all. Such issues don't even come up for discussion in our house. All I can say is that a fanatic Hindu and a fanatic Muslim only thrive and live on hatred and it is their hatred towards us that they express through such fatwa s.''
Zeenat Shaukat Ali, who teaches Islamic studies at St Xavier's College in Mumbai, dismissed the controversy as a "non-issue''. "What Salman did was his personal choice,'' she said.
"The Koran clearly says two things: you to your religion and me to mine; and secondly, there is no compulsion in religion. Therefore, the fatwa is the Bareilly maulvi's personal opinion and Muslims are not bound to follow it.''
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