Noted lyricist Javed Akhtar has received death threats via email after he apparently called an Islamic cleric �insane� during a television debate about the fatwa against working women.
Akhtar has informed the police about the messages which told him that �your countdown has begun�.
"I started getting a barrage of hate mails post my comments about the fatwa. They are of the opinion that by opposing the fatwa on Muslim working women, I am being anti-Islamic. I have informed the police and they have acted quickly and provided me with security" Akhtar told PTI.
Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, Deoband had recently issued a fatwa (religious edict) saying it was un-Islamic for women to work in offices in proximity with men and decreed that acceptance of their earnings by a family was against the Sharia.
Akhtar had condemned the fatwa during a discussion on TV following which the scriptwriter was told to apologise or face strict action.