A Muslim woman from Karnataka has been trolled for the exact reason she was praised on a reality TV show - singing a Hindu devotional song.
22-year-old Suhana Sayeed floored judges during her audition, a video of which has been widely shared online. But the singer has been abused on a Facebook page with nearly 46,000 followers, where a long message condemns her for singing the song on a public forum and - in front of men.
According to reports, a Facebook page called Mangalore Muslims began trolling her and called her a disgrace to the community. They said she has tarnished the Muslim community by singing before men.
Written in Kannada, the post could be reportedly translated as: “Suhana you have tarnished the Muslim Community by singing in front of men.
Do not feel that you have achieved a great feat; people who learn to recite Quran in 6 months have achieved more. Your parents have encouraged you to show your beauty to other men, they will not go to heaven because of you. Please give up the pardah that you are wearing as you don’t respect it.”
In her audition, Ms Sayeed, wearing a colourful hijab, sang for 100 seconds, as three judges in blindfolds listened, captivated.
As the performance ended and the blindfolds came off, the judges raved about the message of unity in Ms Sayeed's performance.
Many have tried to reach out to Sayeed, but the attempts have proven unsuccessful. In the meanwhile, people have come out in support of the girl’s right to sing what she wants, how she wants to and where she wants to.
Women activist Brinda Adige said Sayeed is actually unifying different religions together and added radical men are, therefore, jealous.
“She should continue to showcase her talent and because she is breaking a path, the people are jealous especially the radical men in Islam. She should not be bothered by them,” Adige said, adding that the people who are condemning and trolling her on the social media, need to understand Islam is a beautiful religion.
After Sayeed’s story and the troll post went viral, Mangalore Muslims seems to have responded with yet another post in Kannada, saying that their intention was not personal, and accused Sayeed for working on an agenda and trying to garner sympathy votes from the judges by singing a Hindu devotional song being a Muslim girl. They even accused her of betraying her community.
The post was widely condemned. Abdul Mannan said in his Facebook message, "Dear Admin, I have one thing to say... Stop deciding who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell and grow up."
Another social media user, Moidin Shaeb, points out that there have been many examples of people singing religious songs of a different community.
"Why are we fighting each other," he asks. "Islam teaches us to respect all religions and human beings."
Santhosh Malavalli writes, "She has a fabulous voice...Let's pray to God to give her strength to win the competition".
According to some media reports, supporters of Ms Sayeed are looking into filing a case against those abusing her online.
