On the occasion of Ganesh Chathurthi, celebrated on 18 September in Tamil Nadu, several celebrities wished their followers. However, one celebrity’s wife, Zafroon Nizar, made Hinduphobic posts to “educate” her followers about Hindu Dharma and Islam.

Zafroon Nizar is none other than the Muslim wife of Yuvan Shankar Raja, a prominent Tamil film composer and the son of renowned music maestro Ilayaraaja. Yuvan embraced Islam in 2014, became Abdul Haliq, and within a year, marriage was arranged between him and designer Zafroon Nizar. Owing to his conversion to Islam, some of Yuvan’s fans raised inquiries about his decision to retain his original name after his conversion to Islam.

Zafroon Nizar operates a fashion design venture under the name Eclectic by Zafrun and owns a cafe known as Rose Room Creamery in Chennai. However, on her personal Instagram account, she frequently shares numerous posts with Islamist content. She has archived many of her stories and Q&A posts in her highlights, a significant portion focusing on critiquing Hindu Dharma.

Hinduphobic social media posts of Zafroon Nizar

A significant point of contention arises from Nizar’s social media activity. She frequently shares Islamist posts on her personal Instagram page, and has even stored several stories and Q&A posts in her highlights, many of which target Hindu Dharma. The recent controversy surrounds her alleged posting of Hinduphobic content on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, a Hindu festival, in September 2023. Following a backlash from Hindus, she seems to have deleted these stories.

Posts on Manu Smriti & caste

Zafroon has habitually posted incorrect translations of the Manu Smriti on her stories and attempting to “educate” her followers about the ills of Sanathana Dharma. Here are some screenshots of her post highlights. Her Instagram account is filled with a recurring pattern of posts related to caste, Hindu beliefs, and culture, all under the guise of discussing Islam. Her actions are an interference in matters that are beyond her understanding.

As expected, she quotes EV Ramasamy Naicker.

She picks random translated verses of the Manu Smriti and makes it sound like it was written to discriminate the Shudras. What she doesn’t realise is the real meaning, the type of punishments prescribed for those who were Brahmanas when they failed to carry out their duties, and those for Shudras – vast difference in both.

Also, she doesn’t understand what Varnashrama Dharma means, what Varnvyavastha means, but would pounce on you if you question her Islam.

Hypocrisy, thy names are Zafroon & Yuvan

The sharing of Hinduphobic stories on Ganesh Chathurthi led netizens to question Nizar’s apparent hypocrisy with her own religion. One netizen, in particular, pointed out that music is considered Haram in Islam, yet Yuvan Shankar Raja’s career is deeply rooted in the world of music. Nizar’s response, characterised by a dismissive tone, emphasized her posts were about Islamic beliefs and attempted to school the netizen about Islam. The conversation was as follows:

As a Hindu, we ask her, is wearing nail polish and makeup not haraam? Or are the makeup and nail polish she is wearing halal? In this video, you can see her with full makeup (lipstick and all the usual fare) as well as nail polish, her hair is exposed and so are her eyebrows. Why is this not haraam and a freedom of choice? Ironically, she is a fashion designer, should an ideal Muslim that she claims to be, be doing what she is doing? Is designing clothes to make the woman look more pleasing and ultimately “desirable” not haraam?

Here is what an Islamic preacher has to say about wearing makeup and nail polish. He says it is extravagance and makes the woman look desirable, and is a waste of time when one indulges in applying these.

While everyone on this planet has the right to practice and express their faith as they choose, it is essential to note that one should also practice Live and Let Live. When what others do is not harming your life, why poke your nose unnecessarily? Rules are the same for everyone; when a Hindu cannot speak anything about what she believes in, she has no right to do the same to Hindus. What happened with Nupur Sharma, Kanhaiyalal, or Kamlesh Tiwari cannot and should not happen to any Hindu.