Clerics of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband have criticised Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament and actor Nusrat Jahan for taking part in Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra function in Kolkata on Thursday.
The clerics questioned the religious identity of Nusrat Jahan and asked her to clarify whether she had renounced Islam and adopted Hinduism as idol worship and performing religious rituals was prohibited in Islam.
Head of the online fatwa unit of the seminary, Mufti Arshad Faroquee, said in Lucknow that Muslims were prohibited from performing rituals of any other religion, while Jamait Dawatul Muslimeen patron Maulana Kari Ishak Gora said that under the Shariat law, Muslims could only worship Allah and no other God.
“The (TMC) MP has to clarify whether she is a Hindu or a Muslim. If she admits that she has converted to Hinduism then there is no issue. But if she still follows Islam, then she should abide by Shariat and Quran otherwise she will be termed as ‘gunahgar’ (sinner),” claimed Majlis-Ethid-e-Millat, UP chief, Mufti Ahmed Gaud.
On Thursday, Nusrat Jahan and her husband Nikhil Jain attended the inauguration ceremony of the Rath Yatra in Kolkata along with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
After the function, Nusrat Jahan said that in Bengal, all religious functions were celebrated together.
‘’Didi (Mamata) comes for Eid and stands with all. There is no politics on this. It is about faith and belief. In West Bengal, we participate in festivals irrespective of caste, creed or religion,’’ Jahan said.
Newly-wed MP Nusrat Jahan caught the attention of Islamic clerics for wearing vermilion and mangalsutra in the Lok Sabha while taking oath of membership. The clerics had said that Muslim girls should only marry boys of her religion. The actor-turned-politician got married to businessman Nikhil Jain in Turkey last month.
The TMC MP has been elected from Bashirhat constituency of West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. She defeated her nearest rival by over 3.5 lakh votes.