Muslim woman trolled for singing Hindu devotional song in TV reality show

Suhana Sayed

Bengaluru: A young Muslim woman has come under online attacks by fundamentalists for singing a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada reality show. A post on Facebook by a group called 'Mangalore Muslims' accused Suhana Sayed of tarnishing the community's image. "Do not think that you have achieved a great feat by winning appreciation from judges by singing a song on the stage in front of other men belonging to other religion," the post said. Also objecting to her parents' allowing her to take part in the show, the post said, "You have chosen the path to hell. ...but why are you encouraging others towards destruction?" It also asked her to remove the "sacred scarf" as she does not have the quality to wear it. Suhana from Sagara in Shivamogga district is a contestant in 'Zee Kannada's popular reality show 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa'. The song "Shreekarane...Srinivasane..." sung by her in praise of Lord Balaji and telecast last weekend had won resounding applause from the audience and judges at the show. It was also shared and lauded by a number of people online. "There should be no restrictions from any kind of regimen or problems to my talent... others should also come out and achieve... they should take courage after at least seeing me," she had said after rendering the song at the show. One of the judges Vijay Prakash thanked and congratulated Sayed for her participation, saying the show celebrates pure music without any discrimination. Kannada Music Director Arjun Janya told her, "Your voice is really good. You have done a great job. By singing a Hindu devotional song you have become the symbol of unity and music is a medium where people can unite." Suhana got a standing ovation from the judges and the audience for her performance. A post in support of Suhana said "singing a devotional song of another religion is not an offence. Singers are ones who sing songs of all religions and why create an issue. You can rarely name a singer who has not sung devotional songs of other religions. The best example is Yesudas."