A Muslim woman has been trolled online for singing a Hindu devotional song on a popular reality TV show
New Delhi:
A Muslim woman from Karnataka has been trolled for the exact reason she was praised on a reality TV show - singing a Hindu devotional song. 22-year-old Suhana Sayeed floored judges during her audition, a video of which has been widely shared online. But the singer has been abused on a Facebook page with nearly 46,000 followers, where a long message condemns her for singing the song on a public forum and - in front of men.
The hate-filled post in Kannada on the Facebook page "Mangalore Muslims" has now been deleted. A new post claims the singer wasn't threatened or disrespected, but still accuses her of insulting her religion. "We criticised the fact that she sang about multiple gods while she follows a religion that believes in one god. We are not curtailing her freedom of speech, but to gain judges' sympathy she had no right to level baseless allegations against the religion. We criticise that," said the post, which alleged an agenda and accused the media of highlighting the story for TRPs.
In her audition, Ms Sayeed, wearing a colourful hijab, sang for 100 seconds, as three judges in blindfolds listened, captivated.
As the performance ended and the blindfolds came off, the judges raved about the message of unity in Ms Sayeed's performance.
"Your voice is really good," said one judge, as the audience applauded. "By singing a Hindu devotional song you've become the symbol of unity. Music is a medium which unites people, differences disappear," he said.
The Facebook post that has now been deleted launched a searing attack on Ms Sayeed. "You have not achieved any great feat...Your parents will not go to heaven as you have exposed yourself to other men. Stop wearing the hijab, you don't know how to respect it" - it said.
The post was widely condemned. Abdul Mannan said in his Facebook message, "Dear Admin, I have one thing to say... Stop deciding who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell and grow up."
Another social media user, Moidin Shaeb, points out that there have been many examples of people singing religious songs of a different community.
"Why are we fighting each other," he asks. "Islam teaches us to respect all religions and human beings."
Santhosh Malavalli writes, "She has a fabulous voice...Let's pray to God to give her strength to win the competition".
According to some media reports, supporters of Ms Sayeed are looking into filing a case against those abusing her online.
The hate-filled post in Kannada on the Facebook page "Mangalore Muslims" has now been deleted. A new post claims the singer wasn't threatened or disrespected, but still accuses her of insulting her religion. "We criticised the fact that she sang about multiple gods while she follows a religion that believes in one god. We are not curtailing her freedom of speech, but to gain judges' sympathy she had no right to level baseless allegations against the religion. We criticise that," said the post, which alleged an agenda and accused the media of highlighting the story for TRPs.
In her audition, Ms Sayeed, wearing a colourful hijab, sang for 100 seconds, as three judges in blindfolds listened, captivated.
As the performance ended and the blindfolds came off, the judges raved about the message of unity in Ms Sayeed's performance.
"Your voice is really good," said one judge, as the audience applauded. "By singing a Hindu devotional song you've become the symbol of unity. Music is a medium which unites people, differences disappear," he said.
The Facebook post that has now been deleted launched a searing attack on Ms Sayeed. "You have not achieved any great feat...Your parents will not go to heaven as you have exposed yourself to other men. Stop wearing the hijab, you don't know how to respect it" - it said.
The post was widely condemned. Abdul Mannan said in his Facebook message, "Dear Admin, I have one thing to say... Stop deciding who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell and grow up."
Another social media user, Moidin Shaeb, points out that there have been many examples of people singing religious songs of a different community.
"Why are we fighting each other," he asks. "Islam teaches us to respect all religions and human beings."
Santhosh Malavalli writes, "She has a fabulous voice...Let's pray to God to give her strength to win the competition".
According to some media reports, supporters of Ms Sayeed are looking into filing a case against those abusing her online.
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