Samajwadi Party leader moves court against 'Azaan'

Bollywood movie Azaan, scheduled to be released on Friday, has run into rough weather after a Samajwadi Party leader approached the Bombay high court, saying the film’s name hurts Muslim sentiments.

The case was filed after Naeem Akhtar Azmi, the mufti (chief priest) of Sunni Darul-Uloom Mohammediya Minara Masjid, on Wednesday issued a ‘fatwa’ that no film can be named after ‘azaan’ — the auspicious call to prayers to Muslim faithful.  

The ‘fatwa’ came in response to an open query posed by Mumbai Samajwadi Party vice-president Farookh Ghosi. The petitioner has demanded a stay on the global release of the film and a ban on the movie till the producers change its name. 

The petition is expected to come up for hearing in a day or so, and Ghosi said he has written to the state government seeking its urgent intervention in the matter.