Muslim girls walk the ramp in UP college in burqa; clerics say dress not 'part of fashion', threaten action

A senior cleric said that burqa was a symbol of religion not fashion and demanded a ban on designer burqas.

Catwalk by some Muslim girls during a cultural event at a private college in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district has invited the wrath of the Muslim clerics, who said that 'burqa' was part of religious tradition and not fashion and sought action against the college management.

''Burqa can't be used as a fashion....it is essential for a woman to wear burqa as per Islamic tradition....using it as a fashionable clothing is condemnable,'' said senior Muslim cleric Mufti Asad Quasmi.

He said that 'burqa' was a symbol of religion not fashion and demanded a ban on designer burqas'.

Another Muslim leader Mukarram Kazmi also slammed the college management for organising such an event and said that it was 'anti-religion' and 'provocative'. ''Burqa can not be part of a fashion show...legal action should be taken against the organisers,'' Kazmi said.

One of the Muslim girls, who was part of the catwalk, however, rejected these assertions and said that they wanted to show that burqa too could be part of fashion. ''We wanted to prove that fashion does not only mean short clothes...wearing burqa can also be a part of fashion,'' the girl, who was a student of fashion designing course at the college, said.

A teacher from the college also said that it was not proper to mix religion with education. ''Girls are moving forward...they sought to connect hijab with fashion,'' the teacher added.