Ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra elections, actress Swara Bhaskar, who waxed eloquent about feminism, along with her husband Fahad Ahmed, met radical Islamic cleric Sajjad Nomani. Nomani, who has been urging the Muslim community to support the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena alliance (Maha Vikas Aghadi), has been vocal in his opposition to various social reforms, including women’s education.

Fahad Ahmed, who is contesting from the Anushakti Nagar Vidhan Sabha constituency on an NCP ticket, has garnered support from Nomani, who is known for his controversial statements.

Bhaskar, known for deriding Hindu customs and traditions in the name of feminism was seen looking like a perfect “khala“, found herself in the spotlight for meeting Nomani, given his fundamentalist views that contradict the values of women’s empowerment she advocates.

जनाब हज़रत मौलाना सज्जाद नौमानी साहब की ख़िदमत में हाज़िर हुए और उन्होंने हमे खूब दुआओं से नवाज़ा pic.twitter.com/5P7S3OIaJj

— Fahad Ahmad (@FahadZirarAhmad) November 16, 2024

Who Is Islamist Sajjad Nomani?

Nomani, a member of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, has stirred controversy with his views on education for girls.

Education Is Haram

In one video, he declared that sending girls to schools and colleges is “Haram” (forbidden) in Islam. He further stated that parents who allow their daughters to attend educational institutions alone would be condemned to Hell. “It doesn’t matter if the daughter is wearing a hijab; she is not to be left unaccompanied,” Nomani said. He also discouraged Muslim girls from attending schools, urging parents to keep their daughters at home and teach them under female supervision.

Nomani’s extremist ideology extends beyond education, with his remarks against Muslim women’s modesty. He expressed concern over Muslim girls abandoning purdah (veil) and argued that it was better to keep daughters uneducated than to send them to colleges. “I swear on Allah that it is better to keep your daughters uneducated and illiterate instead of sending them to such colleges,” he stated.

Taliban Love

In addition to his regressive stance on women’s rights, Nomani has expressed admiration for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. After the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, he congratulated the militant group, stating, “No one can defeat a community which is ready to die in its pursuit of power. Congratulations to the Taliban! I, as a Muslim from Hind, salute your courage, calibre, religious zeal, and determination.”

Last year, India’s #Deobandi cleric Sajjad Nomani was openly glorifying #Taliban.

Will he be condemning Taliban’s evil law of banning female education?

At one side, they praise Ayesha ؓ as intellectual, & on other side they block Muslim women from mosques and universities. pic.twitter.com/faIgmB2WZ9

— Zahack Tanvir — ضحاك تنوير (@ZahackTanvir) December 31, 2022

Bhagwa Love Trap Conspiracy Peddler

Nomani has also propagated the controversial “Bhagwa Love Trap” theory, alleging that Hindu men are conspiring to convert Muslim women through relationships. He claimed that Hindu men are trained in Islamic teachings and Urdu to lure Muslim women, with the incentive of money, housing, and jobs. “As per my estimates, at least 5000 girls have run away with Hindus, married them and changed their religion to Hinduism. And some of these girls are those who were considered virtuous in their localities. You did not educate them enough about honour of God. You sent them to school, college. You gave them mobiles. They are making friendships. On the other side, there is a whole conspiracy to trap as many Muslim girls as possible, destroy their religion, enjoy them for a few months and then throw them away like peels, destroy their lives, this is a planning. Girls and their parents are so unaware of what’s happening outside. They get these girls’ contact numbers, contact them, and I came to know this through sources that the members of that organization is training their youth for 1-2 months about how Muslims talk among themselves, their behavioural aspects and do sweet talk the unaware and naive girls and the parents. Has any of your sleep been disturbed after listening to this?”, he asserted, adding that these men are allegedly rewarded for their efforts. He warned his followers to be vigilant and accused Hindu youths of orchestrating a deliberate campaign to convert Muslim women.

#Video: Sajjad Nomani claimed, “As per my estimates, at least 5000 girls have run away with Hindus, married them and changed their religion to Hinduism."

And these are the children of those people, who are considered ‘religious’ in their neighbourhoods,” he said.

(6/n) pic.twitter.com/qtk66H3TSB

— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) May 23, 2023

The meeting between Swara Bhaskar and Sajjad Nomani has sparked criticism, particularly given the radical views expressed by the cleric. Bhaskar following her marriage to Fahad Ahmed earlier this year seemed to have taken a drastic turn favouring Islam given her recent meeting with Nomani. Her feminist stance seems at odds with Nomani’s restrictive views on women’s rights.

(With inputs from OpIndia)

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