The Hindu : National : Cleric dismisses Shabana's statement

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Monday, Oct 30, 2006
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Cleric dismisses Shabana's statement

Lucknow: Even as the veil controversy in Britain refuses to die down, Muslim clerics here have sharply reacted to veteran Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi's statement that the Koran does not make it mandatory for a woman to cover her face.

"It has become a fashion of sorts for some Indian Muslims to criticise the teachings of the Holy Koran and Hadees," Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahali, a senior All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member and Imam of the historic Tilewali Masjid here, told PTI.

"Some Muslims in the country think they will be considered modern only when they criticise the Koran and Hadees," he said referring to Ms. Azmi's statement.

While in London to receive the Gandhi Foundation's International Peace Award, the actor-turned Rajya Sabha member had called for a debate on Muslim women wearing the veil, saying the Koran speaks about women wearing clothes to cover their modesty and that they need not cover their faces.

"The Koran has clearly instructed that women should put on veils," Maulana Firangimahali said, adding that this did not mean that they should not go to college or work and remain confined to their homes. — PTI

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