New Delhi: On 17 February, when Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker took to Twitter to announce her engagement to Samajwadi Party leader Fahad Ahmad under the Special Marriage Act, it evoked mixed reactions on social media — love, hate and a lot of unsolicited opinions.
Much to everyone’s surprise, even Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who has returned to the microblogging site after a ban in 2020, had high praise for the couple’s union. But others are not holding back on the trolling.
Dr Yasir Nadeem Al Wajidi, a Chicago-based religious scholar declared that the marriage was invalid because the partners were from different faiths. In his tweet, Wajidi remarked that since Bhasker is not Muslim and her partner is from the Islamic faith, their marriage is “not islamically valid.”
Responding to Wajidi, renowned radio jockey Sayema Rehman posted a sharp two-word reply on her Twitter handle.
Her reply created quite a stir online with a series of back and forth remarks between her and Wajidi.
After the scholar remarked that Sayema, who stood in defense of the marriage, was “infected” with “liberalism disease”, Sayema also said that Wajidi’s citing of the Quran “was accurate” but he was offering “unsolicited advice.” She further added that neither Swara nor Fahad asked for his or anyone’s permission on the matter and his opinion is “a disservice to Islam.”
Bhasker announced her marriage to the Samajwadi Party leader by sharing a montage that recounted how the two met and fell in love. In the caption she wrote, “Sometimes you search far and wide for something that was right next to you all along. We were looking for love, but we found friendship first. And then we found each other! Welcome to my heart @FahadZirarAhmad It’s chaotic, but it’s yours!”
Bhasker and Ahmad registered their marriage on 6 January, 2023, in court –three years after they first met. The couple met at an anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protest in 2020 in Mumbai.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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