The controversial Tanishq advertisement allegedly promoting ‘Love Jihad’ has stoked a massive outrage in the country. Interestingly, the backlash against the Tanishq ad not only came from indigenous faiths of the country, but also from the Muslim community itself.
Many noted Islamic clerics have asserted that depiction of Muslim families celebrating Hindu customs is not a true reality as Islam prohibits Muslims from practising such polytheist culture.
On Thursday, during a news debate in the Kannada news network Suvarna News, a similar opinion was expressed by noted Islamic scholars who went on to opine that the Tanishq advertisement was far from reality. Suvarna News had conducted a debate to discuss the massive outrage against the controversial Tanishq advertisement that has been accused of promoting ‘Love Jihad’.
During the debate, the moderator asked Hindu social activist Chakravarthy Sulibele whether the controversial Tanishq ad was the true depiction of reality. Responding to his question, Sulibele explains the hidden agenda behind the Tanishq ad and points out how the advertisement was a false depiction of interfaith marriages, especially in Muslim families.
“It is 100 per cent fake. A Hindu girl not converting to Islam after her marriage to a Muslim man is a rare case. Only those Muslim families which considers themselves to be moderate may allow women to remain Hindu,” said the social activist.
Echoing the similar sentiments just as Chakravarthy Sulibele, Islamic cleric Umar Sharif explained how provisions of Islam does not permit Muslims to adhere to the rituals and concepts practised by polytheist faiths. Hindu women should quit practising their religion and convert to Islam if they wish to marry Muslim men, he said.
“Monotheism is the basic concept of Islam. Women from a polytheistic faith must surrender her faith and accept monotheism,” noted Islamic scholar Umar Sharif said during the debate.
The scholar Umar Sharif also added that there may be a few instances where some ‘modern’ Muslims deviating from the concepts of Islam have accepted their Hindu wives as such without asking them to convert to Islam. It is un-Islamic for women not to accept Islam after her marriage to a Muslim man, Umar Sharif added.
The Islamic cleric also added that Islam prohibits Muslim families from celebrating Hindu customs such as ‘Seemantha’ or ‘Godbari’ ceremonies as depicted in the Tanishq advertisement.
“The makers of the advertisement may have had noble intentions, but the depiction of Muslim families celebrating Hindu customs is far from reality as it is un-Islamic,” noted Islamic scholar Umar Sharif.
Not just Umar Sharif, another Islamic representative in the panel also agreed to the fact that Muslim families are not allowed to practise such Hindu customs as depicted by Tanishq advertisement. Abdul Razzaq also pointed out that the underlying narrative of harmony depicted in the Tanishq is not true as Islam does not permit Muslims to practise Hindu customs in reality.
The Tanishq Ad that created a furore
A massive controversy broke over various social media platforms with users calling for the boycott of the jewellery brand Tanishq for their latest advertisement which showcased a Hindu woman married into a Muslim family, preparing for her baby shower. Heeding to criticism, the controversial advertisement which was accused of promoting ‘love jihad’ has been pulled down from YouTube.
The Tanishq ‘Love Jihad’ ad that has now been taken down. Disgusting! pic.twitter.com/QuS1XBTVIO
— Kashyap Amrika Observer (@YearOfTheKraken) October 12, 2020
The ad released on October 9 shows a pregnant Hindu woman walking with her mother-in-law, who distinctly belonged to the Muslim faith. The Muslim mother-in-law then leads the Hindu daughter-in-law to the garden area, where the god-bharai ceremony has been set up according to Hindu traditions.
Shocked, the daughter-in-law asks the mother-in-law why the ceremony was set up in that manner since “these things are not followed in the house”. To that, the smiling mother-in-law tells her that while this might not be their tradition (since they are a Muslim family), making daughters happy is a universal tradition.
After severe backlash on Social Media, Tanishq had removed that ad from YouTube and issued a statement saying that due to the sentiments that the ad clearly hurt, the ad was being pulled down.
