Tag: Islam

  • Ahsan Khan calls out Priyanka for saying her dad used to ‘sing’ in a mosque

    Ahsan Khan calls out Priyanka for saying her dad used to ‘sing’ in a mosque

    Trust Priyanka Chopra Jonas to pass the most inconsiderate comments ever.

    The actor while speaking to Oprah Winfrey opened up about her religious side and gave an insight into how her life was while growing up.

    Talking about her spiritual journey, Priyanka said that she had been influenced by different religions throughout her life, ranging from Hinduism to Christianity and Islam.

    “With the swirling number of religions that live in the country [India]… I grew up in a convent school,” said Chopra. “So I was aware of Christianity. My dad used to sing in a mosque and that made me well aware of Islam. Being a Hindu and coming from a Hindu family, I adapted the rituals and teachings from Hinduism.”

    “Spirituality is such a large part of India that you can’t ignore it,” she added.

    Priyanka further shared that her late father educated her about all faiths.

    “I am a Hindu. I pray and have a temple in my home. I do it as often as I can. But truly to me, I am a believer that a higher power does exist and I like to have faith in that,” she said.

    Soon after Priyanka’s comments about her dad “singing” in a mosque went viral on social media, Ahsan Khan among countless others, expressed their shock over the actor’s religiously insensitive comments.

    Besides Ahsan, several other social media users also expressed their outrage of the Priyanka’s comments.

    https://twitter.com/jkbbie/status/1373244123466063875?s=20

    https://twitter.com/MainKamlee/status/1373206024862240768?s=20

  • Noor Bukhari apologises to Zoya Nasir for criticising bride’s dress

    Noor Bukhari recently expressed her reservations over a local bride’s outfit.

    “Where are we heading? Is this our tradition?,” said Noor while talking about the bride’s dress.

    Noor’s comments irked Zoya Nasir who jumped in to defend the bride.

    “It’s her wedding day. It’s her dream day,” said the actor. “The bride is not enforcing her beliefs or lifestyle on anyone and no one has the right to publicly disgrace her very personal choice with their own two cents.”

    “Lest no forget what the person in objection has done in the past,” she continued. “She had pretty good role to play where we are headed. If Ms Noor was free to do what she did, same goes for everyone else.”

    “It’s good that she had a calling and is following her faith but that doesn’t give her the authority to name and shame,” she added.

    Responding to Zoya’s outrage, Noor apologised to her.

    “I apologise Ma’am Zoya Nasir. I did very wrong in past and I regret what I did,” said the former actor.

    “It concerns me because there use to be a time dulhan looked so pretty in haya,” said Noor. “But still I realised my mistake and took down the post.”

    “Where is the freedom of speech? Why [does] it [have] to become news whenever I post anything on my post or page?” questioned Noor.

    “Still I apologise for my mistake. Ab me chup hi rahun gi,” she added.

    Bukhari turned to religion to seek contentment after her fourth divorce. She has often used social media to share her religious experiences and spread spiritual awareness. In January 2020, she reportedly remarried ex-husband and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Awn Chaudhry. The couple has two daughters together.

  • Canadian vlogger Rosie Gabrielle gets married to Pakistani traveller Adeel Amer

    Canadian vlogger Rosie Gabrielle, who converted to Islam in January last year has tied the knot with Pakistani travel vlogger Adeel Amer.

    Gabrielle announced the news on social media with a picture of the two.

    “I’m married,” wrote Gabrielle in the caption. “Never would I [have] thought that I would come to Pakistan and fall in love. Not only with a country and it’s people, but one very special individual in particular.”

    ‘My whole life I searched for him. My soul mate, my companion, my best friend,” she added.

    The Canadian vlogger further said “Before I came to Pakistan, I surrendered my need to find someone. I made a pact with God, that if I had to spend the rest of my life living for only Him, and loving myself, without needing someone to “complete me”, so be it. I finally knew deep down that I’m ENOUGH. And I didn’t need anyone to make me whole.”

    “It’s a funny thing surrender; the moment you do, you are gifted 10 times over. Divine says, give up your desire for your needs, for what I have in store for you, is much Greater. And it was true!”

    “Not only did I find my soul partner, I also found my best friend. The one who I will cherish and continue to love more deeply every day. Someone whom I can share every detail of my life with without guilt or judgment, who challenges me, who continuously pushes me to be a better person. The one who loves me unconditionally and has patience and compassionate grace for my journey. The man who lights up my life and inspires me every single day with his love and actions. Someone who compliments me perfectly.”

    “Our love was written in the stars. There was a subtle familiarity and connection I had never felt and more, it’s as if we had lived a thousand lifetimes before. In the most unsuspected place I found, a love so rare, so profound. God gifted me you and you to me, to reflect back His Divinity.”

    “To truly find our life’s sacred calling, our souls emerge hearts exalting My bestest friend, companion, motivator, inspiration, my heart my soul, my LOVE My husband Adeel Amer,” she concluded.

    Earlier, the Canadian traveller had opened up on her journey towards Islam and shared how Pakistan had played its part.

  • Maulana Tariq Jamil to launch a clothing brand soon

    As per media reports, Maulana Tariq Jamil is launching a clothing brand. Speaking with Samaa Digital, Maulana Tariq Jamil’s manager Shabbir Ahmed Usmani confirmed the news, adding that the brand will sell Shalwar Kameez and Kurtas.

    Meanwhile, a LinkedIn page with the name of “MTJ – Tariq Jamil” has been created, supposedly for the official page of the soon-to-be-launched brand.

    According to the LinkedIn page, “MTJ being supervised directly by Maulana, is dedicated to weave people’s beliefs and convictions into reality. Provides a garment shopping platform to discover and re-associate with that lost identity that is ingrained in all of us.”

    The description further states, “The brand works to holistically combine diverse heritage and values in producing garments for people to feel empowered and proud when they wear them to offices, in homes, functions, travelling etc. and respectfully become the ambassadors of those inherited values by owning them.”

    The link of the website given on the LinkedIn page says “MTJ online, Coming Soon”.

    However, Tariq Jamil’s manager did not say when the brand would be launched officially.

  • European travel vlogger Christian Betzmann accepts Islam

    European travel vlogger Christian Betzmann accepts Islam

    European travel vlogger and YouTuber Christian Betzmann has accepted Islam after staying in Pakistan for around a year.

    Betzmann announced the news on social media, sharing a picture of himself holding a certificate from the Islamic School of Miami.

    “I have accepted Islam,” wrote Betzmann in the caption. “I started this channel last December and spend almost one year in Pakistan. During this time I met so many incredible people and learned a lot about the religion and the lifestyle.”

    “Growing up in Europe the word Islam was always connected with negativity, war, terrorism and to be completely honest I was never a religious person before so I didn’t really care what people thought back then. My best childhood friends were Muslims and deep inside we are all human beings in the same simulation we call life,” Betzmann added.

    Calling Islam a religion of peace he further said: “Islam is the religion of peace and I felt a deeper connection and something I want to experience and explore deeper for myself.”

    He also posted a vlog on his YouTube channel titled I ACCEPTED ISLAM | MY SHAHADA.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hxDOfNm-u0

    YouTubers Zaid Ali, Sham Idrees and people from entertainment industry including Zoya Nasir, Minal Khan and Zara Noor Abbas congratulated him on the big decision.

  • Arabic teaching compulsory in Islamabad schools after Senate okays bill

    Arabic teaching compulsory in Islamabad schools after Senate okays bill

    All primary and secondary schools in Islamabad are required to introduce the Arabic language as a compulsory subject after the Senate approved the Compulsory Teaching of the Arabic Language Bill 2020 on Monday.

    The bill presented by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Javed Abbasi was endorsed by all members of the upper house, except Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani who wrote a dissenting note. The bill will be implemented within six months.

    As per the bill, Arabic will be taught in schools in Islamabad from grades 1-5, while Arabic grammar will be taught in grades 6-12.

    Senator Abbasi said Arabia is “the fifth most spoken language in the world”, adding that it would also open up more job opportunities for Pakistanis in the Middle East. According to the senator, the Holy Quran is in Arabic and “we would not go through the problems we are currently facing had we understood the Holy Quran”.

    Parliamentary Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Muhammad Khan also agreed with Abbasi. He said the bill was in line with Article 31 of the Constitution that says: “Measures should be taken to spend our lives according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah.”

    According to Khan, learning Arabic was crucial to “become a good Muslim […] and understand God’s message”.

    However, PPP’s Rabbani said that legislation to make Arabic a mandatory language in schools was an attempt to “use Islamic for political purposes”. He further termed this an attempt to erase the diversity of Pakistan by imposing the foreign Arabic culture.

    “The Arab culture is not mine, [the] Indus Valley [Civilisation] is my culture,” he said, adding the Arabic language has nothing to do with Islam or Quran beyond being the language it was revealed in.

    In a response to The Current’s story on Instagram, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that contrary to the media reports, the PPP opposed the said bill.

  • 3,184 people accept Islam in UAE during 2020

    3,184 people accept Islam in UAE during 2020

    The Mohammad bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture has recently revealed that 3,184 people converted to Islam this year. All the requests for conversion to Islam were received online during  the current COVID-19 pandemic.

    According to the details. Hind Mohammed Lootah, the Director of the center, said the institution would keep on delivering the right message about Islam and spread its lofty principles among people of different faiths and communities living in Dubai.

    The center is in contact with new converts to Islam and provides them with numerous services such as religious, social, cultural and educational.  The center receives online requests for conversion on its website www.iacad.gov.ae, or through the free-toll number 800600.

  • Zainab Jamil quits acting ‘to learn more about Islam’

    Zainab Jamil quits acting ‘to learn more about Islam’

    Zainab Jamil has announced that she will be quitting acting and modelling to learn more about Islam.

    “I proudly announce that I won’t be continuing my career as actor and model”, wrote the model-turned-actor on social media.

    “Allah has chosen me to become a student of Quran and Hadees and learn more about our deen Islam,” she added.

    Later, Zainab shared a detailed explanation regarding her decision and talked about why she decided to step away from showbiz.

    “For those who are really concerned and have been asking me why did I take this decision at once, I really respect your concern that’s the reason I am posting one [story],” wrote Zainab.

    “I’m late I should have made this announcement a lot earlier but maybe I was not ready or I was in search of few answers actually now it’s been 3 years that I am studying Quran with Tafseer and I am not an easy student”, she continued.

    Zainab further shared that she was not satisfied with her choice of career.

    “Thanks to my teachers for bearing with all my stupid questions and doubts which I had and bringing me to the point where I finally thought that I’m ready to take this very big step to announce that I am quitting the career which I thought I loved, whereas I did not because whenever I was on set working, I was not completely satisfied.”

    “With all due respect to those who are working in this field, I am not hurting anyone’s feelings to work as an actor but we all are different so this is my different. And I really want to thank the producers and people whom I was in contract to work with and thank you all for understanding me and letting me drop the projects I signed,” she concluded.

    Zainab has been part of many multi-starrer projects including Hum TV’s Khawab Saraye (2016) alongside Muneeb Butt, Aiman Khan, Behroze Sabzwari, and Khalid Anam. She also had a small role in the blockbuster film Jawani Phir Nahi Ani in which she played Hamza Ali Abbasi’s love interest Charity.

    Earlier, Rabi Pirzada, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Ali Afzal, and Noor Bukhari had quit the industry on religious grounds.

  • Comedian Dave Chappelle opens up about his conversion to Islam

    Appearing as a guest on the latest season of the Netflix series My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, acclaimed American stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle opened up about his spiritual journey.

    “I wanted to have a meaningful life, a spiritual life, not just what my hands can hold,” he said. “I felt like I’ve always had this notion that life should mean something.”

    Chappelle, 47, revealed that his conversion came about through his visits to his local pizza shop as 17-year-old growing up in Washington, DC. He recalled that it was the positive vibes of the Muslim staff that caught his attention.

    “The pizza shop was across from my house and it was, like, all these Muslim dudes that worked in there,” he said. “I used to go in there and crack jokes. And I am also a naturally curious guy and I would ask [the owner] questions about his religion and the guy was so passionate about it. It was very compelling. I liked the perspective of it.”

    Chappelle also expressed his weariness surrounding the public discourse about Islam.

    “It’s been presented in the public space in such a narrow and dismissive view,” he said. “It’s a beautiful religion. And the ideas in that religion are reflected in all the major Abrahamic faiths. You’ll see these ideas in both Christianity and Judaism, you know. It is the idea that this place does mean something, you know?”

    In the interview, the actor also shared one of his favourite stories from Islamic history – the one which centered on the origins of Zamzam water.

    “The thing that comforts me about it is the idea that all of this is from a singular source and the source is ultimately kind. And even though we may not understand the intentions of this source, we’re all connected and bounded by it”, he said.

  • Forced conversions

    Forced conversions

    According to her parents, a 13-year old Christian girl Arzoo Raja was abducted by a man in his 40s, forcefully converted to Islam and then married to him. Then a local court dismissed the plea moved by her family to send her to a shelter home so that she was released from the custody of her older Muslim spouse. The court said that Arzoo Raja accepted Islam willingly and she told them that she was not abducted and was not forced to marry the 44-year-old.

    Even if the girl says she was not forced to convert to Islam and did it wilfully, how is child marriage being allowed? The husband says she is 18 and so does she in an affidavit but NADRA records show she was born in 2007. Her marriage certificate does not mention her age or details of her CNIC. A medical certificate needed to prove a person is 18 was not provided either. Legal experts say that child marriage is a very integral part of forced conversions. They say that the law against child marriage is inadequate. Some believe that all child marriages should be prohibited and declared invalid but legal age of girls is something that many religious leaders do not agree with.

    The National Commission for Minorities has finalised a draft law to curb forced conversions but the law will be finalised only after consultations with the provinces and the leaders of all schools of thought. Senate Committee on Minorities’ Rights led by Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar is also working on the issue of forced conversions by getting all stakeholders, from minorities to religious leaders, on board.

    Forced conversion of Hindu girls in Sindh is an issue that has been highlighted a lot. Minorities’ representatives say that why is it that only their girls are converted and not men. But in some cases, the conversions are not forced. They are be due to economic reasons or to get away from families but the tool to justify these conversions is consent. “Why is it that mainstream religious parties are never involved in conversion of girls from minority communities and only fringe groups like Mian Mithu’s, etc?” a parliamentarian questioned while speaking to The Current. They said that administrative laxity, if turned to agility, can decrease the cases of forced conversions.

    Despite laws, their implementation is more important. We hope the courts will not give a stamp of approval to child marriages and forced conversions. Minorities are as much citizens of Pakistan as the Muslims.