Zaira Wasim reacts to furore on locust attack tweet, says it was taken out of context: ‘PS I’m not an actress anymore’

Former actor Zaira Wasim has reacted to the controversy surrounding her social media posts on locust attacks. Replying to a tweet by Canadian journalist Tarek Fatah, Zaira said her words were taken out of context.

Tarek had tweeted, “Indian Muslim actress @ZairaWasimmm mocks her own countrymen as being victims of Allah’s wrath. This is how she explains locust swarm.” In her original tweet, Zaira had mentioned a verse from the Quran about locust swarms. “’So We sent upon them the flood and locusts and lice and frogs and blood: Signs openly self-explained: but they were steeped in arrogance- a people given to sin’ – Qur’an 7:133,” read her tweet. When met with excessive trolling and criticism, Zaira decided to temporarily deactivate her Instagram and Twitter accounts. She returned a day later.

In response to Fatah’s tweet, Zaira shared a long note that began with, “Asalamualaykum Uncle Fateh.” She wrote that she never claimed that the locust attacks in multiple states of the country were a sign of God’s wrath. “While I too agree making claims like `this is wrath or a curse’ when the world is going through so much is a really insensitive one, I wish to also emphasise that making a claim on our own as big as It’s a wrath or curse of Allah upon any land* is a statement one is making on behalf of Allah, which is actually a religiously irresponsible one and a sin and also a claim I never made, let alone mock anyone,” she wrote.

“My tweet was completely taken out of context and blown out of proportion and none of the opinions, whether good or bad, define the reality of my intentions, for that is between me and My Rabb, and something which I’m not even going to explain, for I’m only accountable to Allah and not His creation,” she added. “The world is going through a tough time and a lot of hatred and bigotry already, the least we could do is not add more to it,” she wrote.

Zaira ended her tweet by adding, “P.S I am not an actress anymore.”

The Dangal actor had caused a stir last year when she announced that she was quitting her acting career as she felt that her profession was damaging her relationship with her religion.

HT