Bangladesh film star turns preacher
dhaka — A Bangladeshi film star who became an Islamic preacher said on Wednesday he wants to use his fame to draw young people in the Muslimmajority nation to the faith.
Ananta Jalil is the latest actor to take up the practice after 22-year-old Naznin Akter Happy, whose decision to become a preacher was the subject of a best-selling book.
Thousands of fans turned out late last month to watch 39-yearold Jalil preach in the capital Dhaka. Photos of him wearing a turban and long robe went viral on social media.
He said he had joined the Tablighi Jamaat — an evangelical movement that boasts millions of adherents in Bangladesh — after a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Makkah earlier this year.
“The main reason Allah gave us life... sent us to the earth is to worship Him. I learnt it there,” he said by phone on Wednesday.
“If I can preach Islam to the young generation, they’ll abide by Allah and the traditions of the prophet and they’ll say prayers five times a day.”
Unlike Happy, Jalil said he would keep making movies although his next one would be used to “propagate Islam”.
Jalil made his fortune as a textiles entrepreneur and used the money to bankroll films in which he played a starring role.
He has made six movies, starting with “Khoj” (“The Search”) in 2010, in which he played a secret service agent who takes on an international arms syndicate. — AFP