FATWAS SHOULD BE MADE A CRIMINAL OFFENSE UNDER SECTION 506 IPC

Young singer Nahid Afrin, against whom some Islamic clerics in the state have issued a ‘fatwa’, says she is not afraid and would not stop singing or performing till her death.

Over 40 clerics from Muslim organizations issued the ‘fatwa’ against the 16-year-old, restricting her to perform on stage, saying that the performance by a girl on stage was against the “Sharia laws”.

The clerics organization had also distributed some leaflets in and around Udali area near Hojai in central Assam, asking the singer not to perform in a function scheduled for March 25.

Talking about it, Afrin told the media: “I was broken completely after hearing about the ‘fatwa’. But I am not going to stop singing. I have received hundreds of calls and messages from the people of Assam and different organizations supporting me.”

Afrin had brought laurels for the state by becoming the runner up in popular television show “Indian Idol Junior” in 2015.

The young singer shot to fame after she made her debut in Bollywood with 2016 Sonakshi Sinha starrer “Akira”.

“Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal spoke to me and told me not to be afraid. He also assured me of security during the scheduled programme at Udali on March 25.

“I am a singer and music is my life. I don’t think I can survive without music. Allah has blessed me with this voice for singing, and I’ll die if I am not allowed to sing,” said Afrin.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday tweeted: “Freedom of artists are essence of democracy. Spoke to Nahid and reiterated our government’s commitment to provide safety and security to artists.”

Meanwhile, several organizations and individuals in Assam have come out to support the young singer and against the ‘fatwa’ issued against the singer and said that people of Assam will give security to her.

Forty-six Muslim clerics in Assam have issued a fatwa against up-and-coming singer Nahid Afrin, who was the first runner-up in the 2015 season of a musical reality TV show, asking her to stop performing in public.

Police said they were investigating whether the fatwa was a reaction to Nahid recently performing songs against terrorism, including the Islamic State terror group. “We are looking at this angle as well,” ADG (special branch) Pallab Bhattacharya said.

Leaflets bearing the fatwa in Assamese and the names of the clerics were distributed across Hojai and Nagaon districts in central Assam on Tuesday. According to the fatwa, a March 25 programme at Udali Sonai Bibi College in Lanka, Assam, where Nahid, 16, 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 young singer, a Class X student who lives in Biswanath Chariali, broke down on hearing news of the fatwa. “I am speechless. I think my music is God’s gift to me. I will never bow down to it (such warnings) and never leave singing,” she said.

Her mother added, “The organisers of the musical night told us that the programme on March 25 will not be cancelled.” Police said Nahid and her family would be provided security cover.

Nahid, who made her Bollywood debut singing for Sonakshi Sinha in the 2016 film ‘Akira’, first rose to stardom after her successful innings on reality TV . Her beautiful renditions of songs written and composed by the Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva have made her especially popular in Assam.