Also mentioned garland of shoes: cleric who issued fatwa to bald Sonu

Mumbai: Sonu Nigam sensationally took over national media on Wednesday by getting himself tonsured in response to a Fatwa a cleric had issued, against his tweets criticising use of loud speakers during Azaan.

After the nation erupted, the cleric, Syed Sha Atef Ali Al Quaderi, has finally reacted, stating, “He only heard the tonsuring bit of the Fatwa. I had also mentioned a garland of old shoes.”

The Muslim cleric was angry after Sonu Nigam shook the Internet on April 17 with a series of tweets questioning why he needed to be woken up by the ‘Azaan’ in the morning and when this 'forced religiousness' would end in India.

Sonu appeared before the media bald at his home Wednesday afternoon and said, “I believe in all faiths and I didn’t speak against any religion.”

The singer, who was branded as an 'anti-Muslim' for his tweets, said: "Jiss insaan ne poori zindagi Mohd Rafi sahab ko apna pita maana hai, jiske guru ka naam Ustad Gulam Mustafa Khan sahab hai, us insan ke baare mein koi aisa soche, kahe ya taunt kare ki anti-Muslim hai, toh ye meri problem nahi hai, ye aapki problem hai. (I am someone who spent my entire life idolising Mohd Rafi as my father figure, I am someone whose teacher is Ustad Gulam Mustafa Khan, and I am being labelled anti-Muslim… it’s not my problem but the other person’s.)"

The cleric had been quoted as saying, "If anyone can shave his hair, put a garland of old torn shoes around his neck and tour him around the country, I personally announce an award of Rs10 lakhs for that person.”