Fatwa Issued Against Thalapathy Vijay Over Controversial Iftar Event

Tamil Nadu actor-turned-politician Thalapathy Vijay has come under fire from a Sunni Muslim body in Uttar Pradesh, with a fatwa issued against him.

The fatwa against the actor was issued by Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilly, National President of the All India Muslim Jamaat and Chief Mufti of Chashme Darul Iftar, reported India Today.

According to the report, the fatwa accuses Vijay of being “anti-Muslim” and criticises his recent Iftar gathering in Chennai as a political stunt masked in religious sentiment.

“Vijay Thalapathy is using Muslim sentiments to make his way into politics from the film world when his history is full of anti-Muslim sentiment,” said Maulana Razvi.

Referring to Vijay’s film 'The Beast', he alleged, “In his film ‘The Beast’, he has linked Muslims and the entire Muslim community with terrorism and militancy. In the film, Thalapathy tries to show Muslims as ‘monsters’ and ‘devils’. And now since he is entering politics and he wants votes, he is doing Muslim appeasement.”

The fatwa, issued in response to a public query, declares that inviting “alcoholics and gamblers to Iftar” is illegal and sinful, and advises Muslims in Tamil Nadu not to trust or include such persons in their religious programmes.

The actor-politician had hosted the Iftar on 8 March at Chennai’s YMCA grounds, where he donned a skull cap, took part in namaz, and broke fast with attendees.

However, the Tamil Nadu Sunnat Jamath lodged a complaint on 11 March with the Chennai Police Commissioner, alleging that the event was poorly managed and featured individuals “with nothing to do with Iftar”, which they claimed had “insulted Muslims”.

Syed Kous, treasurer of the Sunnat Jamath, said, “We believe the participation of drunkards and rowdies who had nothing to do with fasting or Iftar has insulted Muslims.”

Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai also attacked Vijay, stating, “Nothing will change just by wearing a skullcap for a day, holding an Iftar event, and claiming to stand with minorities.”

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