NEW DELHI: The Punjab and Haryana high court have observed that even though ‘Azaan’ is an integral part of Islam; it does not necessarily have to be aired through loudspeakers.
The court made this observation over a plea filed against singer Sonu Nigam. According to a Hindustan Times report, Justice MMS Bedi termed the petition filed by a resident of Sonepat in Haryana as a “cheap” attempt to gain publicity.
“A fair interpretation of the words used by respondent no 4 (Nigam) clearly indicates that the word ‘gundagardi’ in tweet no 4 is not addressed in the context of ‘Azaan’ but the use of loudspeakers and amplifiers.”
Justice MMS Bedi also condemned the criticism Sonu Nigam had been facing for speaking out on social media. He said the petition was just a malicious attempt to use Sonu Nigam as a ‘scapegoat’ for gaining publicity.
The singer had described as “hooliganism” the use of loudspeakers for sermons and calls to prayers by mosques, temples and gurdawaras.
“Gundagardi hai bus (it is hooliganism),” Nigam said on Twitter. The 43-year-old singer said he didn’t believe that religious places should wake up people with sermons and prayers on loudspeakers and demanded an end to “forced religiousness”.
He shaved his head to go completely bald to protest against a West Bengal cleric who had announced Rs10 lakh ‘Fatwa’. The cleric Syed Sha Atef Ali Al Quaderi said he (Sonu) did not comply with other conditions which were “wearing a garland of old shoes” and “apologising to every Muslim family in the country”.
Sonu after a couple of days again posted a video clip in which the ‘Azaan’ could be heard in the background. He captioned the video “Good morning, India”. He, however, did not mention the time or place.