Sara Ali Khan Pataudi, a Bollywood actress, and daughter of actor Saif Ali Khan and his first wife, actress Amrita Singh, uploaded images with the words ‘Jai Bholenath,’ on the social media platform, Instagram, on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri. In her post, Sara is pictured seated in front of a Lord Shiva idol. Her Islamist followers, however, took offense to this and started attacking her for engaging in practices that are associated with infidels or non-believers.
Soon after she shared the Maha Shivratri greetings, Sara Ali Khan started receiving hateful and abusive comments from Islamists for going against the teachings of Islam and performing ‘shirk’. Shirk in Islam is the sin of idolatry or polytheism. Idol worship is strictly forbidden as per Islam. It says, “Verily you and the gods you worshipped beside Allah are the fuel of Hell. All of you are bound to arrive there.” (Quran 21:98)
Several Islamists vowed to unfollow her for committing this ‘crime’ of celebrating Maha Shivratri. Some ridiculed her for dressing in short clothes in her movies and claimed that she is only nominally Muslim. Others asked whether she really follows Islam. She was even asked to change her name (and convert to Hinduism).
One Instagram user Syed Shifa called her “Jahannami Aurat” (One who belongs in hell). Aurat, the Urdu word for woman, originates from the Arabic ‘awrat,’ meaning ‘genitalia,’ ‘defectiveness,’ & ‘nudity.’
Another Islamist prayed for Allah “to guide her in the right direction”. Sara Ali Khan was told by several such users to have some shame for extending wishes on a Hindu festival. Another Islamist pointed out that Sara is yet to perform Hajj. Another Instagram user named Bilal warned her and said, “There is no forgiveness for ‘shirk’ in Islam.”
One Sehrish wrote, “I cannot understand what do they gain by worshipping to stones and animals,” as he attacked Hinduism along with Sara.
Notably, this isn’t the first time Sara Ali Khan has come under fire from Islamists. On the last Maha Shivratri, she was attacked for posting a picture of performing puja at the Omkareshwar Temple. Similarly, in 2021, she was abused for visiting Ujjain Mahakal ahead of the release of her movie ‘Atrangi Re’. Same year, she was accused of being an ‘infidel’ for visiting Kedarnath temple.
She is far from the only Muslim celebrity to receive such virulent backlash from Muslim users. Cricketers like Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Kaif, and even the ‘king khan’ Shah Rukh Khan have all endured nasty vitriol from Islamists for participating in Hindu rituals or celebrating Hindu festivals.
