‘Exclusive’ community

I FULLY endorse the views expressed by Kamini Prakash in her letter, “The self-appointed spokespersons” (POST, November 15).

What struck me the most about Ebrahim Essa’s letter, to which she was responding, was that he was pining for a period when the Hindu community was fragmented.

As for Diwali and Muslims, the Jamiatul Ulama said, in a Sunday Tribune Herald article on October 19, 2014, that council issued a directive to Muslims, which stated: “As Muslims, we do not participate in the religious celebrations of other faiths… We respect the right of others to celebrate as they wish, but this does not mean that we need to do the same.”

And the lighting of fireworks was a sin. “However, when the use of fireworks becomes part of the religious celebration of others, the severity of the sin increases many times over.”

In another Sunday newspaper, dated November 15, 2009, we read that some Muslims took offence at a DStv Indian channel advert, which wished Indians “A blessed Diwali”!

On October 21, in India, the Darul Uloom Deoband issued a fatwa against Muslim women who performed “aarti” on Diwali day in Varanasi for worshipping “other gods”.

In short, Essa should address the issue of “exclusivity” in his own community before preaching to others.

SANU SINGH Reservoir Hills