Last week, we revealed to you that the Punjab Assembly had passed a resolution which called for a ban on celebrities from hosting Ramazan transmissions.
Some background on the resolution
Through the resolution, the Punjab Assembly had requested the federal government to make sure that TV channels manifest regard for Ramazan and invite religious scholars to these transmissions.
The ‘Qarardad‘ was submitted in the Assembly on behalf of Maulana Muhammad Muavia Azam – Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party’s parliamentary leader. It stated that since the transmissions are hosted by people (celebrities) who have no affiliation with the Islamic faith, it impacts the spirit of Muslims resultantly. The resolution also appealed to the PEMRA to enforce the said ban.
Is the ban really called for?
However, PEMRA is yet to do anything about it (if it decides to do anything about it) which is why we see celebrities such as Ahsan Khan, Reema Khan, Imran Abbas, Sarwat Gilani, Adnan Siddiqui, Hira Salman, and Salman Shaikh, amongst others hosting and attending Ramazan transmissions across various platforms, this Ramazan.
Now since the resolution was passed, I have been thinking about whether or not the resolution was justified. I have been following the whole issue for some time now and recently, I found out that Ahsan Khan, too, took to social media to talk about the said issue. He said, “I am a Muslim and I have a right to question and nobody can take my right away. If I’m questioning the scholars on television while conducting this show or for that matter anybody who has an interest in doing so should not be stopped, should rather be invited to gain knowledge.” I, for one, have to agree with Mr. Khan here for the resolution essentially asks to curtail celebrities’ freedom of speech and freedom to practice religion, based on their occupation.
The actor believed that since he had been hosting Ramazan transmissions (which is a couple of years), it had had a very positive impact on him and that he got to learn so much about Islam through his show. It is, therefore, slightly unjustified to ask them to not be a part of such shows.
A final word
In my opinion, there is no harm in celebrities hosting or even attending Ramazan shows for that matter. As Muslims, they have each and every right to ask questions about religion, be it by inviting religious scholars or indulging in peaceful debates.
Also, since celebrities are known faces, people tend to watch and listen to them with interest. But since religion is a sensitive topic to be dealt with, the discussions should be done with utmost care and responsibility. If any actor or actress believes that they are not capable of such a huge task, they should steer clear of it.
What do you think about the whole situation? Let us know in the comments.
