A case has been registered against tennis player Sania Mirza for shooting for an advertisement on the premises of the 400-year old Mecca Masjid in the Hyderabad. A case has also registered against the advertisement agency for trespass, according to the police here.

The case is based on a police complaint lodged by the Minority Welfare Department that Sania and the ad agency’s crew had entered the historic mosque without obtaining permission from the authorities.

Based on the complaint filed by District Minority Welfare officer Kareemulla, who is the custodian of the mosque, the police registered a case of trespass. The ad film was shot on December 10.

The Mecca Masjid, a heritage building, apparently has no restriction on entry for anyone. Several tourists, including women, visit the mosque daily.

The police called it a “petty case” involving unauthorised entry and photography and the law will take its course in the matter. The complaint apparently was filed following angry reactions from Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen activists who said Sania had hurt religious sentiments by shooting in the mosque “without permission”.

Not for the first time

There have been several occasions when Sania has had a run in with fundamentalist groups. A fatwa was issued against her in 2005 for not wearing short dresses while playing. Sania defends her right to wear and say what she thinks is right.

Taking strong exception to the shooting, the ulema in Islamic seminary Darul-Uloom Deoband said it was "un-Islamic" and had "hurt" the sentiments of the Muslim community.

"Shooting of any kind and photography in a mosque is un-Islamic and can not be permitted...Being a Muslim, Sania should have avoided it," Maulana Anzar Shah Kashmiri of the institution told PTI.

I’m sorry, says Sania

Sania Mirza tendered “unequivocal” apology on Thursday for hurting religious sentiments.

“I would like to apologise to all my brothers and sisters and respected elders who are anguished by my unwittingly  entering a portion of the land belonging to Mecca Masjid,” Sania said in a letter to the Imam of the Masjid.