Mumbai Mirror
Kolkata, Jun 26: Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen is again in the eye of a storm. An imam (priest) of a Kolkata mosque has issued a fatwa against her for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Muslims.
Syed Noorur Rehman Barkati, shahi imam of Tipu Sultan mosque, “I will pay Rs 50,000 to anybody who expels her out of the country, or blackens her face and drives her out.”
His ire stems from the noted author’s comments at a recent seminar on ‘Irrelevance of religion in the era of technology’. Nasreen said that she used to abuse Allah as a child and that the Koran ‘contains contradictions’.
This incensed Muslim leaders who wrote to the West Bengal government demanding her deportation.
“Why should we allow an outsider to stay here and disrupt communal harmony and peace in a secular country like India,” said Barkati who claimed to be under immense pressure from the community to act.
“So, I decided to issue the fatwa.”
According to Taslima, “I talk about human rights and rights of women. I have never said or done anything against any religion. I only speak out against discrimination against women or if women are persecuted. I advocate equality of men and women. If women are discriminated against in any religion, I speak out against it.”
The Kolkata Police is keeping a close eye on the developments.
According to DC (headquarters) P K Chattopadhyay, “We have alerted her about the fatwa. She already has round-the-clock security cover. Guards are deployed at her house.”
Meanwhile, the police commissioner has summoned Barkati to his office on Monday.
AUTHOR IN EXILE
Grappling with threats from fundamentalists back home in Bangladesh, Taslima Nasreen sought refuge in India. She is currently living in exile in Kolkata. She has applied for Indian citizenship, but the Union home ministry is yet to take a decision on the matter.
Kolkata too had witnessed protests over her writings.
The author says, “I talk about human rights and rights of women. If women are discriminated against in any religion, I speak out against it.”