Kerala madrassa allegedly expels student for wearing bindi during shoot
What's the story
A man in Kerala has lashed out at his daughter's madrassa, which apparently expelled her because she wore a bindi during a shoot.
He took to Facebook to say Henna, the child, had displayed outstanding skills in studies, singing, extempore and acting, "yet, she was expelled."
His post drew praise as well as criticism.
In a second post today, he asked trolls to first clarify before abusing.
Post
'Lucky, they didn't sentence her to get stoned to death'
Narrating the incident, Ummer Malayil wrote that Henna is "always a first-rank holder in school and the madrassa. She has excelled at district and sub-district levels. She was the fifth-rank holder in the public examination of madrassas."
"And yet, she was expelled from the madrassa because she sported a bindi while acting for a movie. Lucky, they didn't sentence her to get stoned to death."
Reax
Many laud him, but others question his motives
Though there were voices of support, lauding him for taking a stand, many questioned his intentions and accused him of tarnishing Islam's image.
Responding, he addressed trolls, "Don't try to tarnish a religion by taking advantage of such a situation. This is purely an isolated, local issue. I'm not a man who opposes my community. Along with loving my religion, I support and respect other religions."
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'Isn't children singing and acting along with studies common?'
"Isn't this common, how children, along with studies, sing and act? My protest was only about this," he clarified. "To those who showered me with abuse, did you even try to find out the truth behind the situation by talking to me on Messenger?"
Status
Malayil has now transferred his children to another madrassa
Malayil, who runs a shop near Vallappuzha in Palakkad, has now shifted his son and daughter to another madrassa, TOI reports.
"We cannot tolerate such adamant stand from a section of religious authorities. There are several other institutions which subscribe to secular views," he told the publication.
He also apparently plans to continue protests against the madrassa in question, so there's no repeat of such incidents.