Fatwa issued against AR Rahman for a film on Prophet

Mumbai, Sep 12: Fatwa has been issued against music maestro AR Rahman and filmmaker Majid Majidi by a Mumbai-based Sunni Muslim group, Raza Academy. According to the report, Fatwa was issued against the Iranian filmmaker Majidi for his upcoming film titled 'Muhammad: Messenger of God', which is based on the trilogy on the life of Prophet Mohammad.

“We are against the title. People may use it in a bad manner if they don’t like the film, which will mean an insult to the Prophet. The actors have charged money to act in the film and they may have dubious character in real life. How can we Muslims allow such things to happen?” asked Saeed Noorie, chief of Raza Academy, which initiated the fatwa that was issued by Muhammad Akhtar – the chief mufti of Mumbai.

According to Sunni Muslim group since Mr. Majidi, Mr. Rahman violated the norms, they have to read kalma again and solemnise their marriage once more to seek apology. “They have erred and they must apologise,” he said.

When it was pointed out that most members of the film’s crew were Muslim, Mr. Noorie said that it was more important to make them realise their mistake. “We would have been criticised if we had condemned American or Danish filmmakers. If it’s an insult, then it is an insult and the person’s religion doesn’t matter,” he said.

The Academy will demand a ban on the film in India for that purpose Mr. Noorie said the Raza Academy will be meeting Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. “We demand that the government file a case against Mr. Rahman for hurting the feelings of Muslims,” he said.