Singer Sona Mohapatra has deleted the controversial tweet calling for reforms in Islam before alleging that she lost out on concerts to Armaan Malik and Salim Sulaiman in Islamic Islamic countries. Mohapatra, who stirred a hornet’s nest by supporting Kangana Ranaut’s sister on her tweet calling for Muslims’ genocide, had mistaken a user Ketan for a Muslim because his username was written in Urdu and told him that Islam needed reforms. However, faced with further backlash and in fear of financial reprisals from Islamic countries, the controversial singer has now deleted the ill-fated tweet.
In her original tweet aimed at user Ketan, Mohapatra had written, “I don’t think you can park this one on ‘Hindutva’/Hindus.U expect me to have a larger understanding of what the idea of Islam is?Start by calling out the morons in ur midst too? please. They exist.Your religion needs reforms big time.”
Mohapatra may have deleted her tweet, but her subsequent tweet defending her stand on the need to reform Islam continues to exist on Twitter. She had defended her stand on Islam when user Ketan sought to heap more embarrassment on her for mistaking a Hindu man for a Muslim simply because his username was written in Urdu. Mohapatra had replied,”I might be wrong assuming you are Muslim. My bad. I have nothing against any Muslim per se & my actions prove that every day. That the religion requires reforms is an opinion that I stand by. More than any other in the world. Simple truth. From a feminist pov, more so.”
However, her original tweet calling for reforms in Islam has disappeared. She’s not explained why she chose to delete the tweet, but the answer can be found in her subsequent tweet, where she alleged to have lost out several concerts in Islamic countries to Armaan Malik and the Salim-Sulaiman duo.
She wrote on Twitter, “Sadly,mostly Indian Muslim artists get hosted in these Islamic countries & their concerts.I remember losing out shows to Armaan Malik in Maldives, Salim-Sulaiman too many times.Btw I go on stage in India & even in UP where it was fake-reported to have ‘banned’ it & sang Qawalis.”
Mohapatra had accused Indian Idol judge Anu Malik and singer Kailash Kher of sexual misconduct. Sony TV was later forced to discontinue with Malik’s services as the reality show’s judge after Mohapatra launched a campaign against him and the TV channel.