Kolkata cleric says women are responsible for sexual assaults

Issues fatwas, including a fatwa one against the Muslim workers and leaders of the BJP

: An influential city-based Muslim cleric said on Friday that women victims of sexual assault are responsible for their own fate.

Addressing a press conference, the Shahi Imam of the Tipu Sultan mosque in the city, Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati, said that since young women are made to appear “so sexy” these days, men are “tempted” to violate them.

“These days, women are being raped. Young women are made to appear so sexy that young men are tempted to violate them,” said Mr. Barkati.

However, he clarified later on that by “sexy” he meant “attractive”, adding that women are free to do what they want but they should also “be cautious about their own safety.”

Blames men too

“The character of men is not right these days,” he said.

After being questioned by journalists for his description of women as “weak”, he said that women are “weak” because they “trust others very easily” and hence are “viewed with lust by wolves [men of questionable character].”

Fatwa against those in BJP

Mr. Barkati also issued a fatwa against Muslim workers and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), expelling them from Islam.

“I am issuing a fatwa today against the Muslims in the BJP. They are expelled from Islam from now on,” he said.

Mr. Barkati issued another fatwa instructing the Muslims in Uttar Pradesh not to vote for the BJP in the upcoming Assembly polls. “This is my fatwa on Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. I ask them not to cast a single vote to the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,” he said.

The cleric also issued a fatwa against BJP minority leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, saying that he “should be beaten with shoes.”