On Friday, August 11, several Pakistani Islamists descended on various social media platforms like X (formally Twitter) and Instagram to attack popular Pakistani singer Ali Sethi of Pasoori fame after rumours of his marriage with his long-time male partner Salman Toor started doing rounds on the internet. Reports emerged that the duo have tied the knot in a hush-hush intimate ceremony in New York City.
Though neither Ali Sethi nor his Pakistani American painter partner Salman Toor officially confirmed the news of their marriage, Islamists in Pakistan started losing their mind and began attacking the singer with abusive posts both on Instagram and X.
A Pakistani named Gul Noor Khan was so angry by the news that she went on to declare that Ali Sethi and his partner should be hanged publicly. “If this is true! So they should hang Ali sethi and the guy publicly. This is not a joke literally. If this is Islamic republic of Pakistan so they will take action. This is increasing day by day which is so disgusting man!!! 😱#AliSethi,” she wrote on X.
Another Pakistani Islamist Mohsin Khan shared a verse from the Quran to declare how homosexuality is haram in Islam and lambasted Ali Sethi and his partner for going against Allah.
“LGBTQ IS HARAM. If Ali Sethi and toor did this, they will face jhnum and everyone supporting it or choosing silent over it will bear consequences. I am no one to give fatwa on this but it is clearly mentioned in Quran,” another Pakistani Pakiza Amit posted.
Another Islamist from Pakistan named Maryam was so miffed that she urged her Muslim brethren to boycott the songs of Ali Sethi, whom she went on to declare a ‘Fitnah’ (Kufr or Kafir).
“Boycott Ali Sethi‘s songs. Our media is too much in this filth. It’s up to us to boycott him completely. Stand against Ali sethi before this fitnah attacks our homes,” Maryam wrote.
Such was the rage that one Pakistani Islamist went ahead to curse Ali Sethi’s father Najam Sethi. While Najam Sethi defending cypher His son #AliSethi got married to Salman Toor. Pure example of ” Haram kha k bachay Harami hi nikalte hain,” tweeted Tanzeela Fayyaz.
Pakistani Islamists on Instagram were also quite unsparing towards the Pasoori singer. They too lambasted Ali Sethi for engaging in conduct considered ‘haram’ in Islam.
Apparently, according to an India Today report, Ali Sethi and Salman Toor had first met at an art class at Aitchison College. While there is no confirmation of the news of their marriage, Salman once talked about his sexuality with The New Yorker in 2022 and revealed that he had tried telling his parents about his sexuality when he was 15 years old. “They didn’t accept that,” he recalled.
On the work front, Ali Sethi is a famous Pakistani songwriter, composer, and author. He rose to prominence with his debut novel, The Wish Maker (2009). He made his film debut as a singer in Mira Nair’s 2012 film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, with ‘Dil Jalane Ki Baat Karte Ho’ song.
In 2015, he made his debut on Coke Studio Pakistan with the well-known Punjabi folk song ‘Umraan Langiyaan’. His recent single for Coke Studio – ‘Pasoori’ which came out in 2022 got massive love and adulation not just in Pakistani but in India as well.
Watch the song can be seen below.