Maulana Tariq Jameel is again under fire for organizing a mass gathering on 3rd April at the launch ceremony of his brand. The criticism was based on increasing COVID-19 cases in Pakistan; the country is currently facing the third wave of coronavirus. In the last week, the daily tally of covid crossed the barrier of 5000. Currently, the total number of cases has reached 692,000 while nearly 15,000 have died.
Many have questioned Maulana’s decision to arrange a launch party for his luxurious brand in such an alarming situation. As seen in the viral pictures and videos, most of the guests avoided wearing a facemask, even Maulana himself.
Is Maulana Tariq Jameel a Hypocritic?
Social media users were quick to point out how Maulana Tariq Jameel has gone against his own lectures. His live prayer last year also did not sit well with many Pakistanis. They remember how Maulana criticized the clothing sense of women and claimed that it has brought the COVID-19 pandemic as a punishment from God. Now, they called out Maulana for lack of SOPs during the event, which was certainly a bigger reason for the spread of pandemic than women’s clothing.
Some life-long critics of Maulana took a sarcastic tone to describe how the event was looking like. Opposed to the simplicity (which is recommended in Islam) the launch party was highly glorious. The estimated cost of such an opulent and luxurious setting is usually in millions of rupees.
They accused Maulana of being a hypocritical Islamic cleric by entering a fashion industry while preaching about Islam and criticizing women’s fashion.
Does the Event Get a Pass Due to Religious Influence?
Critics kept on coming with sarcasm to disapprove of having a social gathering amidst rising Covid cases. They pointed out that the Pakistani government only bans social gatherings as long as they are not political speeches, cleric’s sermons, elite weddings, or MTJ brand launch party.
Many Pakistani public figures also attended the launch ceremony of the MTJ brand. These personalities include media people, tv stars, and politicians. Senator Faisal Vawda was also at the venue to convey Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wishes to Maulana Tariq Jameel. The violation of COVID SOPs was happening on a state level which infuriated the public to throw various slurs at Maulana. Critics wondered if this event was given extra clearance just because it was shielded with using Islam’s name.
Why Maulana Launched MTJ Brand?
Some did not mind the launch of a new brand as long as it served a greater purpose. However, their problem was with the glorification and over-expenditure which Maulana advises against himself. Being an Islamic cleric, these things did not suit him according to critics. One of them compared the MTJ brand launch with J. by Junaid Jamshed. JJ’s brand did not make this much noise when it launched.
Maulana Tariq Jameel stated that he is doing this business to fund his madrassahs. Currently, they are being run on Zakat and MTJ brand aims to make them independent. MTJ brand is launched in partnership with another luxurious brand, Diner.
