Picture taken from vimeo.com
April 17th, 2017
And now this, "You should be ashamed to be taking pictures with Sonu Nigam after his anti Muslim tweets. As a Muslim woman you are a disgrace to society for being associated with him considering that you are from a family that has many aalims and haafith."
I wanted to refrain from commenting on this issue. But I think I now need to voice my opinion as I am now being attacked on a personal level. First and foremost it is absolutely cowardice to message someone from a fake profile. If you wish to tell me something have the guts to say it without hiding your damn identity.
So I woke up this morning with twitter going crazy with regards to Sonu Nigam's controversial comments on a public platform. Whilst I was initially taken aback by his bold choice of words, would we as Muslims have reacted in the same way, if he complained about the sound of Church bells ringing or if he was irritated with the sound of early morning bhajans at a mandhir. Would we have made a noise with equal enthusiasm calling for religious tolerance or would we have not reacted at all. Why do we as Muslims have to react about every comment or statement that is made about our religion or religious practices. He resides in a democratic country where he has a right to voice his own opinion in the same way that I have a right to voice my opinion by stating that I was livid hearing the sound of horns emanating from a mandhir adjacent to our hotel in Mumbai a few years ago in the early parts of the morning as it was disturbing my sleep. Does it make me anti Hindu. Hell no. So why does his comment suddenly make him anti Muslim? A close friend of mine residing in India text me this morning about this issue and this is what he said, " As a Muslim, I fully support Sonu's stance. The high court in Mumbai has passed a law stating that there should be no athaan and bhajans from 10pm until 6am, yet there are masjids in our locality and temples that continue with their prayers on a loud speaker illegally defying the court ruling. I am surrounded by many masjids and sometimes the muazzins in these masjids literally have a competition with each other as to who makes the longest athaan or the loudest athaan or the best sounding athaan. This is not Islam. Islam and our beloved Prophet Muhammed (saw) does not condone the practice of disturbing others. We are encouraged to always follow the laws of a country and abide by them. We are not residing in a Muslim country. We need to accept this. I think he should have condemned noise pollution across the board targeting all religious groups rather than just signalling the athaan only. I do however fully understand his sentiments totally"
Why the bloody hypocrisy. For decades scholars have been debating the use of loudspeakers in Islamic countries. There are many suburbs in the Middle East where the athaan is not said over loudspeakers or it is said over a loudspeaker that is governed and regulated in terms of decibel levels. Even in Morocco whilst I was there, there was constant debate with regards to the calls to prayer via a loudspeaker. If there are many masjids in close proximity should all of them recite the athaan over the loudspeaker or will one athaan suffice for the entire neighbourhood? How loud should the athaan be in terms of decibel levels etc etc etc Why then have the Muslim community not come out guns blazing. There are many Muslim scholars in the Middle East who have suggested that the calls to prayer be regulated so as not to disturb the elderly or people following other religious faiths. I know of a Muslim family residing in Bahrain who complained to the authorities with regards to the call to prayer at fajr time as their home was right next to the mosque and their dad was a cancer patient who disliked noise. The sound was way over the recommended decibel levels. The authorities took their complaint into consideration and action was taken.Nowadays we have technology at our fingertips. We can listen to the athaan on our mobile phones and also through Athaan receivers in our homes without disturbing our neigbours. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance and hence instead of displaying a mentality of tit for tat, we should be the one's accommodating to the needs of others. Is Mr. Nigam anti Muslim, NO he isn't. If he was he would not have learned music from a Muslim ustaath who he has revered and looked up to all his life, Muhammed Rafi Sahab would not have been his hero and idol and neither would he have maintained a 17 year long friendship with me. If he was anti-Muslim he would not choose to have a Muslim personal trainer, his drivers would not be Muslim and neither would his barber be Muslim. An anti Muslim person would not allow Muslims to pray salaah in their home either.Just to set the record straight, if I hail from a family that has many haafith and aalims that's great. All praises are due to the Almighty. But at the same time I was brought up in a home where we were allowed to explore other peoples cultures and faiths. I am proud to have friends from all over the world hailing from different socio- economic and religious backgrounds. We Muslims are a nation filled with hypocrisy. We are unable to tolerate practices of our fellow Muslims. We have created sectarianism and allowed religious intolerance to rear its ugly head within the banner of Islam. Yet we expect other nations and religious groups to adopt and have religious tolerance towards us. Knowing the person that he is, I am of the opinion that he returned home really exhausted and when he was woken up by the sound of the athaan he suddenly went on a rant in a fit of anger or frustration. Whilst he is a superstar, at the end of it all he is a human being and like any other human being he has a side that gets upset and angry etc. I have seen the human side of him on many occasions and it has only led to constructive criticism and dialogue between us. Whilst Mr. Nigam has certainly got thousands of knickers in a twist, I would like to thank him for sparking debate and dialogue on a global scale. To the coward who inboxed me, the only person who is shameless here is YOU, not only for judging me but for assuming that I am less of a Muslim for taking pictures with a person who has been my friend for almost 2 decades. Your idiotic comment means squat to me dearest for only Allah alone is the the supreme Judge and only to Him do I answer to. Always remember whilst you quick at pointing a finger at me, there are four fingers pointing right back at you!
For those of you who are not aware of the ruling:
If the majority of the residents are non-Muslims who are objecting to
the Athaan over the loudspeaker, then the Athaan should be given
without a microphone. It is not a Shar’i requirement for the Athaan
to be recited on the loudspeaker.
Was-salaam
A.S.Desai
Mujlisul Ulama of S.A.
the Athaan over the loudspeaker, then the Athaan should be given
without a microphone. It is not a Shar’i requirement for the Athaan
to be recited on the loudspeaker.
Was-salaam
A.S.Desai
Mujlisul Ulama of S.A.
Perhaps the best comments I read with regards to the above topic is as follows:
"As a revert to the Islamic faith I am appalled and disgusted by the hate speech displayed by Muslims with regards to the Bollywood singer. Rather pray for the gentleman for the worst of people have been guided by God Almighty. A lot of Muslims are hypocrites. They will feel hurt and jump up in arms if something is mentioned about them yet when their own clerics spew hate speech against Jews and Christians no one stands up to condemn these actions. With regards to the athaan I lived in a neighbourhood where there were many masjids. Being a Muslim myself I use to be irritated with the fact that over 30 minutes there use to be 5 athaans and once again one masjid wanted to compete with the next in terms of loudness, not very courteous considering there was an old age home nearby... I felt that one athaan sufficed for the entire suburb.Correct me if I'm wrong but it's not compulsory for the athaan to be said on a loudspeaker..we should be encouraging good relationships with our neighbors..I believe his tweet was written in haste or anger straight after being woken up and has possibly been misinterpreted. Trust me if you are an insomniac like me the fight for sleep is real.
Remember I use to be Christian, so when I resided for a brief period of time in the Middle East I felt that forced religiousness was being imposed on me in terms of not being able to consume alcohol or eat pork for example. India has imposed forced religiousness to its citizens with regards to consuming beef. But that is the law of the country and you abide by it.. India is unique in a sense that its made up of a diversity of cultures and religions and whilst one needs to be extra careful with regards to your choice of words in order to prevent a religious war from igniting, you need to remember that due to corruption laws are never adhered to in India. In small localities you will find numerous masjids or mandhirs depending if it is a predominantly Muslim or Hindu locality and yes it becomes irritating when mandhirs and masjids compete with each other over a loudspeaker. The law is clear, no Hindu hymns, no church bells and no athaan from 9pm until 6am. Reading up more about the man at he centre of the controversy, why haven't Muslims come out in praise of his good deeds and charity work that he does not only for Hindu children but for thousands of Muslims kids in rural India. Why hasn't Muslims praised him for funding hundreds of kids with disabilities in India and in the Middle East many of whom are Muslims. Why hasn't anyone spoke about the love and respect he has for his Muslim teacher who is a fatherly figure in his life. There are hundreds of Muslims who listen to the athaan day in and day out and yet they do not pray. Their lives are empty without God in it but on social media they are quick to jump on the bandwagon and criticize a person who God can guide towards goodness one day. Islam has taught me to never ever look down upon anyone else or speak ill of them even if they are perceived as being wrong. To the Muslims who used vulgar language to defend their faith, two wrongs dont make a right. Would you be pleased to wake up at 4am everyday to the sound of blaring church bells and Sanskrit hymns in your bedroom in praise of a deity that does not fit in with your religious beliefs. If you alright with it that's great. But if not, I rest my case."
Remember I use to be Christian, so when I resided for a brief period of time in the Middle East I felt that forced religiousness was being imposed on me in terms of not being able to consume alcohol or eat pork for example. India has imposed forced religiousness to its citizens with regards to consuming beef. But that is the law of the country and you abide by it.. India is unique in a sense that its made up of a diversity of cultures and religions and whilst one needs to be extra careful with regards to your choice of words in order to prevent a religious war from igniting, you need to remember that due to corruption laws are never adhered to in India. In small localities you will find numerous masjids or mandhirs depending if it is a predominantly Muslim or Hindu locality and yes it becomes irritating when mandhirs and masjids compete with each other over a loudspeaker. The law is clear, no Hindu hymns, no church bells and no athaan from 9pm until 6am. Reading up more about the man at he centre of the controversy, why haven't Muslims come out in praise of his good deeds and charity work that he does not only for Hindu children but for thousands of Muslims kids in rural India. Why hasn't Muslims praised him for funding hundreds of kids with disabilities in India and in the Middle East many of whom are Muslims. Why hasn't anyone spoke about the love and respect he has for his Muslim teacher who is a fatherly figure in his life. There are hundreds of Muslims who listen to the athaan day in and day out and yet they do not pray. Their lives are empty without God in it but on social media they are quick to jump on the bandwagon and criticize a person who God can guide towards goodness one day. Islam has taught me to never ever look down upon anyone else or speak ill of them even if they are perceived as being wrong. To the Muslims who used vulgar language to defend their faith, two wrongs dont make a right. Would you be pleased to wake up at 4am everyday to the sound of blaring church bells and Sanskrit hymns in your bedroom in praise of a deity that does not fit in with your religious beliefs. If you alright with it that's great. But if not, I rest my case."
"I was Christian and I hated the sound of church bells blaring ding dong in my home. That however does not make me anti Christian. does it? Here's a video that I viewed sometime back. To all those Muslims who commented on the Bollywood singer fiasco, why haven't you as Muslims stood up in arms about such practices of spreading hate among other nations by brainwashing students which is a more serious issue than a silly tweet. Does Islam teach us to run down people of other faiths." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95GxhqjHZ3E"
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