Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq.
Credit: DH Photo/Pushkar V
Bengaluru: There are no issues with Banu Mushtaq inaugurating Nada Habba Mysuru Dasara, said Maulana Mohammed Maqsood Imran Rashadi, the chief imam of Jamia Masjid in the city.
Mushtaq, a renowned author, won the International Booker Prize recently.
Addressing a press conference, the imam said that people from all communities can participate in the Dasara celebrations, and it was wrong to politicise it. “In our country, everyone, including Hindus, Muslims and Christians, live in harmony. Here, there are temples, mosques, churches
and gurudwaras. We do not have any discrimination,” he said.
“Do Muslims become Hindus if they go to the temple? Do Hindus become Muslims if they go to the mosque? MLA Uday B Garudachar came to the mosque and offered prayers. Can we call him a Muslim? Banu Mushtaq has been invited to the inauguration of Dasara. It is up to her to decide whether she wants to go or not. But it is wrong to tell her not to go,” he added.