{"id":16386,"date":"2017-04-21T23:56:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-22T06:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=16386"},"modified":"2017-04-22T00:39:45","modified_gmt":"2017-04-22T07:39:45","slug":"sonu-nigams-response-to-fatwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/sonu-nigams-response-to-fatwa\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonu Nigam\u2019s Response to Fatwa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sonu Nigam before and after hair-cut during a press conference in Mumbai, April 19. Nigam, who created a storm with his tweets on the use of loudspeakers in morning prayers at mosques, addressed the media at his house to clear his stand over the issue, and also invited celebrity hairstylist Aalim Hakim to cut his hair, in response to a West Bengal cleric’s fatwa offering Rs 10 lakhs to shave off Sonu’s head. (Santosh Hirlekar\/PTI)<\/em><\/p>\n

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@Siliconeer #Siliconeer #Bollywood #SonuNigam \u2013 Sonu Nigam got his head tonsured, April 19, by a celebrity hairstylist at a press conference in response to a \u2018fatwa\u2019 by a Muslim cleric who took strong exception to the Bollywood playback singer\u2019s tweets critical of the use of loudspeakers in shrines.<\/p>\n

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Sonu had called the press to talk about his tweets on April 17 which led to an online furore and a fatwa<\/i> being issued against him by Kolkata-based Syed Sha Atef Ali Al Quaderi, who had offered to pay Rs 10 lakh to anyone shaving Nigam\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

Before hairstylist Aalim Hakim got into the act, Nigam stressed that his tweets were against the use of loudspeakers in morning sermons and not aimed at any particular religion.<\/p>\n

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Sonu Nigam holds a press conference before shaving his head in Mumbai on April 19. (AFP\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI only spoke against the use of loudspeakers. Everybody has a right to his opinion. I have the right to have an opinion and it should not be misconstrued. Loudspeakers are not a necessity; they are not a part of any religion,\u201d Nigam said.<\/p>\n

His intention, he pointed out, was not to hurt anybody\u2019s sentiments. \u201cIf I have done anything wrong, please forgive me.<\/p>\n

My intention was just to talk on a social topic and not a religious topic,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The singer said it was wrong to focus on one particular tweet where he described the broadcasting of sermons on loudspeakers as \u2018gundagardi\u2019 (hooliganism).<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople took one tweet of mine where I mentioned \u2018gundagardi\u2019 and ignored other tweets where I also talked about temples and gurudwaras,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nigam said if anyone thought him\u2014a person who considered the singer, Mohammed Rafi, as his father, and whose guru was Ustad Gulam Mustafa Khan – as anti-Muslim, then \u201cit is not my problem, but theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sonu Nigam stands amongst media representatives after shaving his head in Mumbai on April 19, 2017. (AFP\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People these days, he said, were either leftwingers or rightwingers, so a \u201csecular\u201d person like him was in a minority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a secular person, a neutral person. You will rarely find people who are neutral. So, I am the minority here.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the conference got over, he went inside a room to get his head tonsured.<\/p>\n

Nigam had hinted in a tweet earlier in the day that he planned to shave off his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday at 2 pm Aalim will come to my place and shave my head. Keep your 10 lakhs ready, Maulavi,\u201d he had tweeted, tagging a new report on the fatwa<\/i>.<\/p>\n

In a series of tweets on April 17, the 43-year-old had described as hooliganism the use of loudspeakers for broadcasting sermons and calls to prayers. \u201cGundagardi hai bus (it is hooliganism),\u201d he had posted on Twitter.<\/p>\n

Nigam took the challenge up and called Hakim to the press conference a move that he also made public on Twitter.<\/p>\n

The singer said he wanted to respond to the \u2018fatwa\u2019 in the language of love.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one who is cutting my hair is a Muslim and I am a Hindu. There is no animosity. The same language of \u2018fatwa\u2019 can be communicated in a language of love,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think my religion is the best and yours isn\u2019t. I don\u2019t believe in that. You have to fight fanaticism. You can\u2019t be quiet,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The cleric, however, is not satisfied with Nigam\u2019s gesture. \u201cHe only heard half of the fatwa<\/i>. I had also mentioned a garland of old shoes,\u201d Syed Al Quaderi told a news channel.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile a written complaint has been filed against Nigam at Jinsi Police Station of Aurangabad in Marathwada, April 19, police said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have received a written complaint against the singer but no FIR has been registered against him yet in this connection,\u201d Amitesh Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Aurangabad said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sonu Nigam before and after hair-cut during a press conference in Mumbai, April 19. Nigam, who created a storm with his tweets on the use of loudspeakers in morning prayers at mosques, addressed the media at his house to clear his stand over the issue, and also invited celebrity hairstylist Aalim Hakim to cut his…<\/p>\n

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