Islamabad: In a recent television show, ex-'Bigg Boss' contestant Ali Saleem aka Begum Nawazish Ali had to bend backwards to defend himself and his colleague Veena who was accused of being a threat to Islam.
While Ali was accused of "bay-ghairti, bay-sharmi and bay-hayai (being shameless)" for dressing up like a woman by religious honcho Mufti Abdul Qawi, Veena was accused of disrespecting Islam by behaving irresponsibly in India on public television.
Most Pakistanis have reacted strongly to the Mufti's reaction, contending that Veena is not an official representative of Pakistan and that she was in India to boost her career.
"She certainly did not enter the show as a Muslim contender. She was chosen for the show as a Pakistani celebrity (if you may) who became popular recently for playing an active role in making the cricket scandal further scandalous," posted Shyema on Dawn.com.
"I suppose it is okay for Veena to show her body in scanty silky saris and dance provocatively on local screens but the minute she starts showing that 'immoral' behaviour in India, oh no, Islam is in danger!!" Shyema wrote.
"What I don't seem to understand is that how did this woman who got famous mimicking politicians and dancing between trees in Lollywood movies, become a representative of Islam?" she added.
Nida, a reader, had an interesting take on the cleric's objections: "I'm surprised at the fact that this Maulvi could have time to watch TV and analyse her performance on 'Bigg Boss'..."
Another reader said the biggest threat to Islam was the mullahs themselves. "What I don't understand is that the minute a woman steps out of the country, Islam becomes vulnerable for the mullahs. It's about time that mullahs realised that the biggest threat to Islam is they...themselves," wrote Abida Bokhari.
