Shakib Al Hasan Apologized for What “Offense”?

A young man threatened to kill Shakib Al Hasan on Facebook Live for attending a Hindu ceremony (Kali puja) in India. The news of the threat was discussed the entire day. But the video posted by Shakib Al Hasan in the evening Monday led to a different direction. He gave two different explanations for this. In the video, he has repeatedly apologized. And some questions have arisen here. Why did he apologize? Because he went to attend a Hindu festival. Is it wrong or a crime? Muslims participate in the Hindu ceremonies in the region for ages. They take part in Hindu occasions only for friendship. Hindu friends here also participate in Muslim festivals. Is this value of communal culture wrong? Is Shakib’s apology to extremists, or is it his self-realization? Does he think it is a crime to keep the community in the recent state of being a communal one? Will it not come to the fore that Shakib’s apology further provokes them to act in this violent way?

Shakib Al Hasan gave an explanation for another incident in his YouTube video. There was an allegation brought against him for breaking a mobile phone of a fan while the latter wanted to take a selfie with him on the Benapole border. He defended himself saying that he pushed the man when he fell on him and did not follow health guidelines during the coronavirus situation. But the policemen present there gave a different statement about the incident. Whatever the reason is, Shakib admitted that his fan’s mobile phone has broken. But he did not apologize for this.

Facebook Status of Author and Journalist Ekush Tapader.

Here comes another question. Is Shakib Al Hasan really aware of the health guidelines during the present situation? Then, why did he go to attend an inaugural program of a super shop after he returned from the United States on November 6? He was found in a crowd that day. Also, he had to take all the selfies of his fans. Shakib was not upset that day, he didn’t break any mobile.

The main word in Shakib’s entire video was one. He was seen in the video offering “apology” and “confession of his mistakes” for the social gathering during the puja. He also promised that he would not do this again and said, “It has been spread that I have inaugurated the worship, which I have never done. And as a conscious Muslim, I’ll try to make sure that there’s no repeat of this in the future.”

The ceremony was inaugurated by the Minister of West Bengal Firhad Hakim. He is a Muslim too. Muslim leaders in Bangladesh also become the main guests during various religious events. Hindu, Christian leaders are also seen attending the religious programs of Muslims. They can participate in such events as they have their own religious beliefs.  Now, the question is, would it be a crime if Shakib had gone to inaugurate the puja?

It is his own personal matter where Shakib will go, where he will not go. Also, it’s his personal decision to apologize. I respect that decision.

But his style of apology says it was his mistake to join the Hindu worship as a guest or to walk around it. And he regrets that.

Doing so, is it not established that if a group of people is violent by spreading communal incitement, a simple action will be considered as “wrong” or “offense”? Does this position of a celebrity not convey the wrong message in society?