ASSAM: Muslim clerics in Assam have issued a fatwa against budding singer Nahid Afrin asking her to refrain from performing in public.
The diktat was issued by 42 clerics in central Assam’s Nagaon and Hojai districts. It evoked widespread protests by her fans, including Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal who told her not to be cowed by such threats.
The 16-year-old, a runner up in Indian Idol, who has sung songs against extremism and terrorism, has a scheduled performance at Udali Sonai Bibi College in Nagaon district on March 25. The clerics said performing on stage was gainst the Sharia.
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The venue is adjacent to a mosque and a graveyard. The clerics asserted that musical programmes held near such places would invite the wrath of Allah.
Following the release of the pamphlet, the singer is at a loss. But the chief minister advised her to go ahead with the programme.
“The chief minister sir called me and asked me not to be worried about the threat. He advised me to go ahead with the programme,” Afrin told The New Indian Express.
“I have been singing since I was a kid and I cannot think of a life without music. I was shocked when I heard the news about the fatwa but my well-wishers, including many Muslim singers, inspired me to not lose heart and continue singing,” the class X girl said.
Following her success in the reality show Indian Idol, Nahin Afrin made her debut in Bollywood last year by singing for Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Akira.