Assam clerics deny fatwa on singer

Guwahati: Some Muslim clerics who are said to have issued a fatwa against 16-year-old singer Nahid Afrin in central Assam’s Hojai district were neither traceable nor could be identified by local residents.

When contacted, most of the mosque committees of Hojai and Nagaon districts could not identify the names of the maulanas (clerics) referred in the fatwa.

“We are also trying to find out those clerics who issued fatwa against the singer,” a mosque committee member said. The person said it may be the “mischievous act of some anti-social elements”.

He said police has picked up some clerics from nearby areas of Hojai on suspicion, but they denied to have issued any such fatwa.

The fatwa pamphlet, claimed to have been distributed by some unknown people, does not carry the name of the singer.

Singer Nahid Afrin, 16, who participated in reality TV show Indian Idol, said she was shocked on hearing that 46 Muslim clerics have issued a fatwa against her. “My singing is gift of god. I believe it must be properly utilised, not doing so is ignoring god,” Ms Afrin said. She said she came to know about the fatwa through media reports.

Leaflets bearing the fatwa in Assamese and the names of the clerics were distributed across Hojai and Nagaon districts in central Assam Tuesday.

According to the fatwa, a March 25 programme at Udali Sonai Bibi College in Lanka, Assam, where Ms Afrin is scheduled to perform, is “against the Sharia”.

“If anti-Sharia acts like musical nights are held on grounds surrounded by masjids, idgahs, madrassas and graveyards, our future generations will attract the wrath of Allah,” it said.

The Assam police said it is investigating whether the fatwa was a reaction to Ms Afrin performing songs against terrorism, including ISIS group.