Hyderabad: It’s yet another controversy created by ace tennis player Sania Mirza, shooting an advertisement film on the premises of historic Mecca Masjid with the mosque management lodging a complaint seeking action against her on Tuesday. The Hussainialam police have started investigating the matter.

The Masjid welfare committee reported the police that an ad agency team, along with Ms. Mirza, shot a film on the Masjid premises without permission. The watchman Zahed tried to stop them, but he was brushed aside.

However, Charminar ACP B. Reddenna said the ad agency secured permission for shooting in and around Charminar. The ACP said that the unit had the required permission to shoot in and around Charminar, but not inside Mecca Masjid.

The ACP said, “The Masjid being a historical monument, many people take pictures. We’re probing if any case can be made out based on the complaint given.”

The minority welfare department also filed a complaint against the tennis star and the advertising agency which shot the ad, after the clergy and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) — a powerful Muslim political party in the Muslim-majority old Hyderabad city — protested against Ms Mirza.

Meanwhile, former Corporator Amjedullah Khan also submitted a petition to the police seeking action against the tennis star and the advertisement agency.
According to the mosque authorities, the conduct of some of the members of the shooting unit was really objectionable. Shaikh Kareemullah, district minority welfare officer, said, “Sania has hurt the religious sentiments of people visiting the mosque.”

This is not the first time that the clerics have come out against the tennis player. The hotheads in the community had earlier issued fatwa against her for wearing a short skirt and midriff revealing T-shirt on the court. The Sunni Ulema Board went to the extent of describing her tennis clothes as “un-Islamic”.

For the past few years, hard-line communities have been leading communal campaign in Hyderabad.

It’s important to note that a mob led by MIM MLAs attacked Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen in August. The mob hurled abuses at Tasleema and even threw pieces of furniture at her while she was attending the launch of the Telugu version of her novel, Shodh, in Hyderabad. After the attack, the MIM leadership proclaimed that Taslima got what she deserved.