Mumbai: Actor Sara Ali Khan has attracted the ire of Muslim clerics for visiting the Kedarnath Temple.
Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, president of the All India Muslim Jamaat has called such a visit “impermissible and haram under Sharia”, and issued a fatwa over her offering prayers at the shrine.
Sara was seen waiting in a queue outside the Kedarnath shrine for darshan on Sunday, October 25. After offering prayers, she was seen outside the temple with folded hands, as reported by News18.
Barelvi, in a video statement, urged Sara to repent before Allah, saying she should do so “like a guilty person”.
“I have received information, and many young Muslims have also asked me regarding actress Sara Ali Khan visiting the Kedarnath Temple and offering prayers. Is this permissible in light of Sharia, and does Sharia allow for such actions? Regarding this, I would like to clarify the perspective of Islamic Sharia and what its ruling is on this matter. For any Muslim, whether a man or a woman, to participate in the faith of another religion, offering prayers and performing religious rituals, is considered impermissible (najayaz) under Sharia. Such actions are not permitted… Therefore, if Sara Ali Khan performed these acts — visiting the Kedarnath Temple, offering prayers, and seeking blessings — of her own free will and volition, then she has committed a sin—an act that is haram..,” the cleric said in a video released by ANI.
Sara has faced criticism from religious figures over her visits to Kedarnath earlier as well. Her debut film, Kedarnath, co-starring the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, faced opposition from right-wing groups in Uttarakhand around its release in 2018.
The latest controversy centres on the fatwa, a religious opinion or ruling on a question of Islamic law issued by a qualified Islamic scholar.
Sara, the daughter of actors Amrita Singh and Saif Ali Khan, has been visiting Kedarnath regularly for the past four years.
The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), which manages the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples, has meanwhile made it mandatory for non-Hindu visitors seeking to offer prayers at the shrines to submit an affidavit, stating that they have faith in the deity.
Sara’s team had submitted an affidavit before her visit, BKTC chief executive officer Sohan Singh Rangar has confirmed.