On June 9, a video went viral on social media showing activist Subuhi Khan thrash panellist Shoaib Jamai, known for his inflammatory statements, during a live TV debate about the film ’72 Hoorain’, which depicts the dark face of Islamic terrorism. In the video, both can be seen hurling abuses at each other.
In the video, a furious Subuhi Khan was heard alleging, “How dare you abuse me?” to Shoaib Jamai. Anchor Aman Chopra, panellists and other people could be seen trying to stop the altercation. Khan can be heard saying, “I will show you people your place,” and asked Jamai to “Get out of here.” Jamai responded, “You get out of here.”
Subuhi Khan further alleged, “How dare you? You use Muslim women like prostitutes,” and “You dare call my son haram. You bastard,” during the altercation. Shoaib Jamai responded, “You people are not Muslims.” Subuhi Khan further said, “I will thrash you. I will also thrash your fathers.” The anchor and staff continued to control the situation, advising Jamai to leave.
The original video has been removed from YouTube, thus making it difficult to determine the cause of the altercation. However, from the snippets going viral on social media, it can be seen that Subuhi Khan is infuriated with Shoaib Jamai’s remark. Notably, in another clip circulating on social media, Subuhi Khan can be seen questioning Shoaib Jamai over his statement that the use of lipstick is haram in Islam. While Jamai tries to substantiate his claim, the anchor reveals that Jamai went for makeup before the debate.
Advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha has filed a complaint against Shoaib Jamai with Delhi Police for his anti-India speech and anti-Hindu tweets. He tweeted, “Filed a Police Complaint against @shoaibJamei with @DelhiPolice. I’ve included his anti-India speech and anti-Hindu tweets along with 2 orders of Hon’ble Supreme Court which mandates @CPDelhi to lodge FIR in #HateSpeech cases. Otherwise, it’s a contempt. CC: @LtGovDelhi,” on June 9.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said that he would not participate in TV news debates if Shoaib Jamai was also a panellist. He said, “For sometime now this man has been crossing all limits of civility and decency. While I cannot control which TV channel calls him bit but I will not be appearing with the man on any tv debate.” Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT faction) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted, “Indian news channels providing better entertainment than OTT platforms.”
Who is Shoaib Jamai?
Shoaib Jamai is a self-proclaimed Islamic scholar and chairman of the India Muslim Foundation. Since the video went viral over social media, the backlash against Jamai intensified.
Jamai, known for his anti-Hindu speech, stirred controversy when he proclaimed that he wishes for the day when India would become ‘Akhand Bharat’ after the Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India unite and take over the country. Since Jamai’s alleged hate speech went viral, he has been facing a backlash from people over social media demanding his arrest.
Jamai had said, “I beseech Allah that the day would soon come when India transforms into Akhand Bharat. The day when 25 crore Muslims from Bangladesh, 25 crore Muslims from Pakistan, and 25 crore Muslims from India would unite and take over India, then India would have a Muslim Prime Minister and more than 250 Muslims would serve as members of parliament.”
However, Shoaib Jamai has issued a long clarification over Twitter. He said that he was offended by Subuhi Khan’s statements against Islamic concepts such as Jannat and Jahannam, and other Islamic practices such as Halala. Notably, Halala is a concept where a divorced woman has to marry another man, consummate the marriage and get divorced again to marry the former husband. Jamai claimed that he cited Islamic jurisprudence to substantiate his point, however, Subuhi Khan considered it a personal insult leading to the altercation.
