'Shah Rukh Khan not a Muslim, go and kill him': Mumbai cleric over Pathaan row

Raza Academy cleric Khalil-Ur-Rehman said the film has nothing to do with Muslims, and neither Bollywood is Muslim.

New Delhi, Jan 28: Amid controversy over Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan Besharam Rang song, a Muslim cleric from Mumbai's Raza Academy stirred controversy by calling on the protesting groups to kill the actor as he is not a Muslim.

Speaking to Times Now, Raza Academy cleric Khalil-Ur-Rehman said the film has nothing to do with Muslims, and neither Bollywood is Muslim.

His outburst comes after the Hindu outfits like Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) reportedly raised some objectionable slogans against Prophet Mohammed during a protest by right-wing activists against 'Pathaan' movie near a cinema hall in the city.

"You do whatever you want to do with Shah Rukh Khan, but if you utter objectionable words against our Prophet Muhammad, then we will not tolerate it," the Raza Acadamy cleric reportedly told Times Now.

It has been some protestors had raised objectionable slogans against Prophet Muhammad in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.

Following these protests, many Islamists had gathered outside the Badwali Chowki and the Khajrana Police Station in Indore and raised the contentious Islamist slogan 'Sar Tan Se Juda'.

The Sar Tan Se Juda is a violent call to behead non-Muslims who have disrespected Islam. On June 28, a Hindu talior, Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered in Rajasthan by Mohammad Riaz and Ghaus Mohammad for allegedly speaking up in support of suspended BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma.

A similar incident had taken place in Maharashtra's Amaravati. Umesh Kolhe was brutally murdered by a group of radical Islamists for supporting Sharma.

Raza Academy and its role in inciting communal violence

Raza Academy, to which the cleric who called for the Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's death belongs, is a hardline Muslim organisation that has led several protests, which often led to violence, injuries and deaths.

According to reports, in 2012, Raza Academy was indulged in the violent riots at Azad Maidan in Mumbai and, attacked police officials and had broken the war memorial honouring fallen Indian soldiers.

On July 3, 2021, Raza Academy declared that they would table a private member bill against 'blasphemy'.

In July 2020, Raza Academy forced the Uddhav Thackeray government to write to the Centre, seeking a ban on the online streaming of the Iranian movie 'Muhammad: The Messenger of God.'