Saharanpur: Irked over TMC lawmaker Nusrat Jahan performing Durga puja, an Islamic cleric here on Monday termed her action as “anti-Islamic” and accused her of bringing a bad name to the religion.
The cleric also urged Jahan to change her name.
“Islam does not allow its followers to pray before any other God other than the almighty Allah. Nusrat Jahan has performed puja which is totally anti-Islamic. She is not practising Islam. She even married a non-Muslim. Since she does not believe in the Islam, she should change her name. Why is she insulting the Islam?” Mufti Asad Kasmi, vice-president of Itehaad Ulema-e-Hind, told ANI here.
The cleric further said, “The Islam does not need any person who bears an Islamic name but actually defames the Islam.”
Nusrat Jahan stoked a controversy when she married a non-Muslim businessman, Nikhil Jain, in June this year.
Speaking to reporters after offering the puja, Jahan said she offered prayers to Goddess Durga to promote religious harmony. “I think I have my own way of portraying harmony towards all religions. Born and brought up in Bengal, I feel I am doing right by following culture and tradition. Here, we celebrate all the religious festivities,” she said when asked about her choice to perform puja despite being a Muslim.
Her husband echoed similar sentiments and said: “A lot of people are affected by inter-religion marriage. Nusrat’s visit to the Hindu event is actually a positive message for India. I think every citizen of India, irrespective of their religious identity should accept all religions.