On Monday (April 19), Islamic scholar and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) politician Aamir Liaquat Hussain sparked a massive controversy for doing ‘haram’ Nagin dance on TV during Ramzan transmission.
Unlike India, Pakistan TV hosts special programmes during the month of Ramzan. These are known as ‘Ramzan transmissions’. The shows include non-veg jokes, cheap shayaris and entertaining game shows to help the audience pass time during the month-long period of fast. And Aamir Liaquat has been the face of Ramzan transmission for over a decade.
Aamir Liaquat Hussain, the former Minister of Religious Affairs in Pakistan, was seen imitating Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit and breaking into the iconic ‘Nagin dance’. This took place on Monday during an episode of Ramzan transmission.
The Islamic scholar, who is also a sitting member of the Pakistani Parliament, was seen rolling on the floor and sticking his tongue out in a bid to imitate a hissing snake. Hussain was lost so much into the character that he began crawling on the floor over a snake and ladder board.
“میں ایسی ٹیم لاوں گا کہ آپ سوچ بھی نہیں سکتے”-IK pic.twitter.com/qUIWlxQfSO
— Abdul Moiz Jaferii (@Jaferii) April 19, 2021
Netizens slam Aamir Liaquat for his ‘obnoxious’ Nagin dance
Pakistanis, who usually adore Aamir Liaquat Hussain for his antics on TV, were however not impressed. They slammed him for his theatrics on Tv during the ‘pious’ month of Ramzan. A Twitter user, named IK, wrote, “Ladies and gentlemen…the member of national assembly, named thrice in most influential Muslims, well-known media personality presenting you his ‘Nagin dance’ the one and only bad boy Aamir Liaquat….I will suggest him quit politics and start making memes.”
😂😂😂 Ladies and gentlemen…the member of national assembly, named thrice in most influential muslims, well known media personality presenting you his ‘Nagin dance’ the one and only bad boy Amir liaquat….
— IK (@Ik89276000) April 19, 2021
I will suggest him quit politics and start making memes 😂😂😂
Another Twitter user inquired, “Is Aamir Liaquat Hussain mentally distorted or is he too desperate for the attention?I remember how eagerly I used to watch his Ramadan transmissions but he has lost all the respect. Utterly disgusting!!”
Is Amir Liaquat Hussain mentally distorted or is he too desperate for the attention?I remember how eagerly I used to watch his Ramadan transmissions but he has lost all the respect.Utterly disgusting!! pic.twitter.com/Ib1ytOlXs1
— Dopamine (@dreamer_3216) April 19, 2021
Azka Noor asked, “Kya koi alim-e-Islam shaitan k roop mai ramzan transmission kr skta ha? (Can an Islamic scholar, in the garb of a devil, conduct Ramzan transmission programmes?)”
Kya koi alim-e-Islam shaitan k roop mai ramzan transmission kr skta ha?
— Azka Noor (@AzkaNoor16) April 18, 2021
Aamir Liaquat was also seen racing alongside athlete Naseem Hameed during the live show. During the 20-metre reace, he had a bad fall but managed to win. A Twitter user, Arham asked, “Rozey ki halat mein khuwateen k sath race lgana jaiz hei? (Is it permissible to race with a woman while fasting?)”
Rozey ki halat mein khuwateen k sath race lgana jaiz hei?
— arham (@__SMAS__) April 18, 2021
Petrified by what he saw on TV in the name of Ramzan transmission, another Twitter user recounted, “That one video of amir liaquat doing the nagin dance haunts me.”
that one video of amir liaquat doing the nagin dance haunts me
— minahil ☪︎ (@ymirssidechick) April 21, 2021
Maleeha Hashmi had shared a meme of a man ‘watering his brains’ to suggest that her mind needs a similar cleanup, after watching Aamir Liaquat Hussain’s Nagin dance.
me after watching amir liaquat as nagin 😐 pic.twitter.com/PcJGlg2G0C
— Maleeha Hashmi (@MaleehaHashmi) April 19, 2021
Aamir Liaquat Hussain responds to the controversy
Following the controversy, Aamir Liaquat said, “Whoever is making memes, please continue. I like it. If that makes you happy and helps sustain your livelihood, then continue… Take money, earned from these memes, home and tell your mother that the income is from a ‘haram’ source. Make memes. It does not affect me. Because whatever I do, I do it with conviction and not by mistake.”
Pakistani lawmaker slammed for anti-Hindu bigotry in the past
In February this year, Aamir Liaquat Husain was forced to apologise for his disrespectful act of using the image of a Hindu deity to mock Maryam Nawaz, the opposition leader in Pakistan. He tweeted an image of a Hindu deity to target Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The derogatory tweet targeting Hindus came as a response to an earlier statement made by Maryam, who had warned the Pakistan government against ‘seeing a different Maryam’ if they attempted to steal the vote in a by-election.
Following his tweet, he faced flak from the Hindu community, civil society, and other Pakistan politicians. “I know the sentiments of the Hindu community were hurt. I respect all faiths, this is what my religion has taught me,” he later clarified in a tweet.
