On Thursday (November 4), the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, was abused by Islamists for wishing people on the occasion of Diwali.
In a tweet, Babar Azam stated, “To those celebrating, #Happy Diwali. Wish you enough light, peace and love.” The Pakistani skipper had shared a picture of him with the background of burning firecrackers. He was however cautious to make it a generalised statement and avoid the mention of the word ‘Hindu.’ Despite this, he was slammed by Islamists in Pakistan for committing the sin of idolatry (Shirk).
One Islamist wrote, “We are Muslims and our religion is Islam. Therefore, we cannot congratulate people, belonging to an inappropriate (Munasib) religion.”
Another Islamist made it clear that it was not the duty of a practising Muslim to wish disbelievers (Kafir) on their festival.
Another Islamist named Junaid Ahmed parroted similar lines and warned against wishing non-Muslims. To substantiate his claims in light of Islam. he had also shared a video by Islamic cleric Mufti Tariq Masood.
One Faraz Chisti cautioned that it was not permissible to endorse polytheistic beliefs. “Congratulating non-Muslims on religious festivals seems to support their point of view. Religious festivals of non-Muslims are based on polytheistic beliefs while as Muslims it is necessary for us to show detachment and detachment from polytheism,” he remarked.
Another Islamist named Muhammad Irshad wished that Allah guide Babar Azam in the right direction (Deen) and provide him with the courage to become a true believer. “‘Don’t grow astray in this world,” he added.
One Ali Khan Lodhi cautioned, “No bro, we are Muslim and we can’t celebrate Diwali.” It must be mentioned that Babar Azam did not participate in the rituals of the Hindu festivals and merely tweeted a generalised greeting without the explicit mention of Hindus.
Earlier, Bazid Khan, Pakistani commentator and former cricketer had rejoiced ‘Kufr’s defeat’ after India lost to Pakistan in its first ‘super 12’ game of the T20 World Cup. Khan while interviewing the winning captain Babar Azam, in a post-match presentation ceremony remarked, “Lekin kufr to toot gaya,” to which Babar Azam replied, “All because of Allah.” The usage of the term ‘kufr’ by an International Cricket Council (ICC) presenter at an official ceremony had led to an outrage.
