New Delhi: Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has spoken up against the section of Indian Muslims celebrating the Taliban's rise to power in Afghanistan, terming the recent developments as a cause for concern.
Making rapid advances, the Taliban took over the control of Afghanistan after capturing Kabul on August 15.
In a video that has gone viral on Twitter, Naseeruddin Shah said every Indian Muslim must introspect if they want "reform and modernity" in the religion or live with dated "barbarian" values.
"Even as the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan is a cause for concern for the whole world, celebrations of the barbarians in some sections of the Indian Muslims is no less dangerous. Every Indian Muslim should ask themselves if they want reform and modernity in Islam or the barbarian values of the past few centuries," Shah said in the video.
The 71-year-old veteran also referred to a poem by Mirza Ghalib as he said his relationship with the almighty is informal (betakaluff).
"I don't need a political religion," he added.
The 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' actor further stressed that Indian Islam has been different from the rest of the world and hoped that it never changes beyond recognition.
"Hindustani Islam duniya bhar ke islam se humesha mukhtalif raha hai. Khuda woh waqt na laye ki woh itna badal jaye ki hum use pehchaan bhi na sake. (Indian Islam has always been different from the rest of the world. May God not bring a time when it changes so much that we don't even recognise it)," he stated.
Naseeruddin Shah has been among popular film personalities who are vocal in expressing their concerns regarding contemporary issues, be it the intolerance debate or the controversy over CAA, often also facing controversy over his views.
As for Afghanistan, President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that America has ended its longest war, hours after the final US evacuation plane flew out of Kabul airport amidst celebratory gunfire from the Taliban. The US withdrawal has left the country in disarray with its future uncertain under the rule of ultra-conservative Islamist militants.
The last plane carrying US forces had left Afghanistan on Monday around midnight, a day ahead of schedule, ending a 20-year war that left nearly 2,500 American troops dead and spanned four presidencies, news agency PTI reported.