Imam issues fatwa against Taslima

[ 26 Jun, 2006 TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

KOLKATA: A Kolkata imam on Friday issued a fatwa against exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen for her "anti-Islamic" remarks at a seminar in Kolkata on June 10. Syed Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati, the shahi imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque in Kolkata, said, "I've issued a fatwa against her.

After the Jumma namaz, I said if anyone blackens her face and drives her out of India, I will give him Rs 50,000.There was pressure on me to do something about it as the people were angry."

Accusing the writer of disrupting communal harmony in West Bengal, he said, "She has no right to hurt Muslims' sentiments by saying anything against our Prophet. She is a Jewish spy and there should be a CBI probe into her funding." Taslima said, "I'm not against any religion.

The people have a right to practise any religion they want. I speak on women's issues and advocate that men and women be treated equally. I speak for humanity. If in any religion women are discriminated against, I speak up."