Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan on Saturday responded after media reports claimed that clerics of the Dar-ul-Uloom in Deoband issued a fatwa against her for marrying a non-Muslim and wearing vermilion and bangles in Parliament.
“I represent an inclusive India which is beyond the barriers of caste, creed and religion,” Jahan said in a post on Twitter. “I still remain a Muslim and none should comment on what I choose to wear. Faith is beyond attire and is more about believing and practicing the invaluable doctrines of all religions.”
The actor-turned-MP captioned the tweet: “Paying heed or reacting to comments made by hardliners of any religion only breeds hatred and violence, and history bears testimony to that.” Jahan, who married businessman Nikhil Jain on June 19 in Turkey, took oath as an MP days later, NDTV reported.
Jahan won from West Bengal’s Basirhat seat on a Trinamool Congress ticket by over 3.5 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections.
The New Indian Express reported on Saturday that the Deoband clerics said Jahan had flouted Islamic laws by marrying a non-Muslim. The report added that they said she had broken Islamic laws by first acting in films and then marrying Nikhil Jain.
Earlier in June, Nusrat Jahan and another newly-elected Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty had been hugely criticised on social media for wearing “casual” attire – a shirt and pants – to Parliament. Chakraborty had pointed out that another new MP, Gautam Gambhir, had also worn such attire but was not trolled for it.
Correction and clarification: The Dar-ul-Uloom has clarified that it did not actually issue a fatwa against Nustrat Jahan. Instead, a cleric from Deoband town had clarified the Islamic position on interfaith marriages.
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