Actor Irrfan Khan died on Wednesday in Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, where he was being treated for a colon infection. The versatile actor, one of Indian cinema’s most respected thespians, battled a tumour for several months and had returned to Mumbai some months ago after being treated in London.
Khan will not only be remembered for his magnificent acting career but also for his progressive ideas. Khan’s criticism of the practice of killing goats for ‘Qurbani’ and belief that faith is about introspection had earned him a lot of admonishment by the hardliners. This is probably the reason why at a grievous time like this, when the untimely demise of the quintessential middle-class hero is being mourned by one and all, there are a few Islamists who have taken to social media to shamelessly celebrate the Bollywood actor’s death.
‘Journalist’ Ali Sohrab who is infamous for sharing objectionable and bigoted content on his Twitter page, has his timeline filled with spiteful messages against actor Irrfan Khan who breathed his last today in Mumbai.
Ali Sohrab, in one of his tweet, says that it is Allah’s ultimate punishment that the actor who had once insulted the ritual of fasting during the month of Ramzan, died during the month of Ramzan.
https://twitter.com/007AliSohrab/status/1255417946643533826?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThis tweet is followed by a serious of tweet where Ali Sohrab has shared Irrfan Khan’s 2016 statement, where he had expressed his ideas on Islam and his own way of practising his faith and mocked the actor’s statement.
https://twitter.com/007AliSohrab/status/1255445968486621185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/007AliSohrab/status/1255443781769404416?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwSohrab, who has on several occasions indulged in sharing fake and inciteful posts on his social media pages and is known for his Hinduphobic ideology, wrote that the Quran specifies that there is nothing wrong in discussing the sins and offenses a person has committed even after his death.
https://twitter.com/007AliSohrab/status/1255447714659282950?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwApart from these, there are various other tweets on Ali Sohrab’s timeline as he can be seen obsessing over actor Irrfan Khan’s death today.
Apart from Sohrab, there are many other radical Islamists who have been mocking and celebrating the actor’s death. A Twitter user going by the handle @pokershah has shared screenshots of many such spiteful tweets by Islamists who have been jubilating the actors death.
https://twitter.com/pokershash/status/1255440595935531008?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwMany other Islamists also chose this day to scorn the departed soul for his progressive ideologies.
https://twitter.com/teamxecutor/status/1255425172078804993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/AbuSalm17187224/status/1255417224141197314?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIrrfan Khan condemned the ritual of fasting during Ramzan and ‘Qurbani’
In 2016, during an event in Jaipur, Irrfan Khan had stated that in today’s practises, the actual meaning of Qurbani (sacrifice) has been lost. He had added that purchasing a goat from the market and killing it after two days is not ‘Qurbani’. He had added that the essence of the Islamic festival is about giving up, sacrificing something that is important to oneself.
He had also condemned the ritual of fasting during the month of Ramzan. “Rather than fasting during Ramzan, people should self-introspect. Animals are being slaughtered on in the name of Qurbani during Muharram. We, Muslims, have made a mockery of Muharram. It is meant for mourning and what we do? Take out (tajiya) processions,” Irrfan had said in 2016. Khan had faced widespread criticism from Islamic clerics and even the AIMPLB for his remarks.
Irrfan died at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai on April 29. He was hospitalised due to a colon infection on Tuesday. The actor was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in 2018 and underwent treatment in the United Kingdom for a year. He returned to India in February last year and had resumed work.
Irrfan is celebrated for his work in films such as Maqbool, Life in a… Metro, The Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi, The Lunchbox, Blackmail and others. He was last seen in Angrezi Medium, which is streaming online after its theatrical release took a hit due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Irrfan is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikder, and sons Babil and Ayan.