A video of a fashion show led by Muslim women at a college in Uttar Pradesh has gone viral on social media. While the organisers of the show said that it was a platform for Muslim women to show their creative side, the videos angered the Jamiat-e-Ulema, who objected to burqa being shown as an “item for fashion display”.

The videos show women students clad in burqas walking the ramp during a fashion show. Alina, one of the participating students, explained that they wanted to showcase that the burqa could also be fashionable and not just a garment to be worn at home.

She explained that since she couldn’t take part in the kind of fashion show where short dresses are worn, she wanted to do something for the women of the Muslim community.

Dr Manoj, a teacher at the Muzaffarnagar’s Shri Ram College, supported the students’ initiative, saying that hijab or burqa can boost confidence among Muslim women and that there are growing opportunities in fashion related to these garments globally.

“They are very hardworking students. One of them thought that they should do something creative for Muslim women and show that even hijabs can be fashionable,” he told reporters.

However, Maulana Mukarram Qasmi, the district convener of Jamiat-e-Ulema, expressed strong disapproval, stating that the burqa is not an item for fashion display and that such an act targets a specific religion, potentially hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community.

He warned that if similar events occur in the future, legal action might be pursued.

The Jamiat-e-Ulema has said that this fashion show hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims. “If you are doing a fashion show then do it but do not target any one religion.”

(Inputs by Sandeep Saini)