BAREILLY: A religious controversy has erupted after Bollywood actor Sara Ali Khan visited the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand and offered prayers. Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, a Bareilly-based cleric and national president of the All India Muslim Jamaat, has issued a fatwa describing her actions as impermissible and “haram” under Sharia.
In a video statement, the cleric said he had received queries from young Muslims about whether Sara’s visit and participation in Hindu religious rituals were permitted under Islamic law. Responding to them, he said that Muslims, irrespective of gender, were not allowed to adopt the religious practices of another faith or offer prayers at its places of worship.
Razvi also urged the actor to seek forgiveness from Allah and repent for her actions. He said that if she had visited the temple and performed the rituals of her own free will, she had committed an act considered sinful under his interpretation of Sharia.
Sara visited Kedarnath on October 25. She was seen waiting in the queue for darshan and was later photographed outside the shrine with her hands folded. Reports also said she participated in puja and aarti rituals at the main temple and visited the nearby Bhukunt Bhairav Temple.
The actor has frequently visited Kedarnath over the past few years. The shrine also has a connection to her film career, as she made her acting debut opposite the late Sushant Singh Rajput in the 2018 film Kedarnath.
The controversy has also drawn attention to the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee’s requirement that non-Hindu visitors submit an affidavit before offering prayers at the shrines. Committee CEO Sohan Singh Rangar told News18 that Sara’s team had submitted the required affidavit before her visit.
A fatwa is a religious opinion or ruling issued by an Islamic scholar on a question of religious law. Sara Ali Khan and her representatives had not publicly responded to the cleric’s remarks at the time of reporting.
(With inputs from media reports)