Ummer Malayil, who hails from Pattambi in Kerala, had written a short post about his daughter, attaching a photo of her wearing a chandana pottu and added that his daughter was expelled from the madrassa she went to because she had acted in a short film wearing the costume shown in the photo. His post had gone viral and had received several abusive comments.
Ummer has now written another post to clear his stand, clarifying that he was not anti-religion as many of the comments painted him to be.
“I am a believer. I am a lover of mankind. I love my religion and also accept and respect other religions,” Ummer writes. He also observes the rules of the religion, he says.
He states that when his young daughter Henna showed some talent, he decided to encourage her, because he also loves art. He goes on to explain how Henna got a short five-minute role in a short film.
“My daughter performs on different stages. This is just another performance she’s got,” he states in the post.
Isn’t it natural that students sing or act at this age, he asks. “Only a few would say that all this is forbidden. Most people in Kerala love the various art forms.”
“So my daughter is continuing her studies at a madrassa where both religion and humanity are given importance,” Ummer writes.
Ummer, in his post, asks people not to convert this incident into a religious controversy. He thanks those who expressed their solidarity and gives his love to those who abused him.
However, this post has now received flak too. Some users commented that it was unwise of him to have made that first post on a public platform claiming there are many people who are waiting for a reason to shame Islam. However, there are a few comments in between that do offer support.