Sonu Nigam’s bald rebuttal to fatwa

Mumbai, April 19

Sonu Nigam today got his head tonsured by a celebrity hairstylist at a press conference here in response to a ‘fatwa’ by a Muslim cleric, who took exception to the Bollywood playback singer’s tweets criticising the use of loudspeakers in shrines.

He had called the media to talk about his tweets on Monday which had led to an online furore and a fatwa against him by Kolkata-based Syed Sha Atef Ali Al Quaderi. The latter had offered to pay Rs 10 lakh to anyone shaving Nigam’s head.

Before hairstylist Aalim Hakim got into the act, Nigam stressed that his tweets were against the use of loudspeakers during the morning sermons and not against any religion. “I only spoke against the use of loudspeakers... 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,” he maintained.

“If I have done anything wrong, please forgive me. My intention was just to talk on a social topic and not a religious topic.” He said people had picked on just one tweet where he had mentioned “gundagardi”, ignoring other tweets where he had also talked about temples and gurdwaras. He said he considered legendary Mohammed Rafi as his father, and “if anybody thinks I am anti-Muslim, then it is not my problem.” — PTI