Muslim girls walk ramp wearing burqas in UP college, Jamiat-e-Ulema erupts in protest

According to one of the Muslim students, who was a participant in the catwalk, her college teacher had asked her to wear a burqa creatively. The girl said she thought that wearing multi multi-coloured burqa would add a dash of creativity.

Muzaffarnagar: A fashion show in Uttar Pradesh triggered an angry protest from Muslim organisations for allowing some college students to walk the ramp wearing burqas.

Organised at Shri Ram College in Muzaffarnagar district, the fashion show was also attended by yesteryear Bollywood actress Mandakini and many other celebrities. On the last day of the show on Sunday, some female students wore burqas and walked on the ramp. Soon after a video went viral on social media, Muslim organisations protested against it. Jamiat-e-Ulema leaders said that the burqa is the veil of Muslim women, it should not be made a part of the fashion show.

The organisation said an attempt was made to hurt religious sentiments. Jamiat-e-Ulema's District Convenor Maulana Mukarram Qasmi said, "Burqa would not be a part of any fashion show. Children have been exposed to obscenities. This was done to target a religion. By doing this, an attempt has been made to hurt the Muslim community and their religious sentiments."

He further said Jamiat-e-Ulema opposes such a move. The cleric further said he has appealed to the college administration and district administration to look into the issue.

Maulana Qasmi said that if anyone organises such events again, his organisation will fight a legal battle against it. "We won't hesitate to go to the High Court or Supreme Court for this. The burqa is a cloth which is worn by a Muslim woman whenever she goes out of the house so that no other person can see her face. The burqa is used as a curtain. It is completely wrong to use burqa in fashion shows by sewing it in red or yellow clothes," he said.

According to one of the Muslim students, who was a participant in the catwalk, her college teacher had asked her to wear it creatively. The girl who is from the Muslim community, said she thought that wearing multi multi-coloured burqa would add a dash of creativity. "We wanted to wear a burqa of different colours this time. With this thought, we thought of wearing a burqa in a different way at the fashion show," she said.

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