You’ve got your religion wrong: Syra Yousuf on discrimination against Christians

Sharing a quote from the Holy Quran, the actor relays a lesson for netizens using religion for the wrong reasons

Following the controversy of Karachi based bakeries for declining to write Merry Christmas on cakes, a debate propelled on social media with people justifying the act as righteous, all the while preaching Islamic values. Actor Syra Yousuf calls out such opinions of wishing the aforementioned greeting as ‘shirk’ by reminding netizens that they’ve ‘got their religion wrong’.

The Mera Naseeb actor took to her Instagram story to speak up about the issue and wrote, “If not selling or catering to our Christian community comes from a place of religious sentiments, then I hate to break it to you, you’ve got your religion wrong.”

She further went on to quote from the Holy Quran to give them a taste of their own medicine. “Do not abuse those whom they worship besides Allah (Quran 6:108)”

Adding on, Syra continues to relay the message of promoting peace and inclusion. She went on to advise her followers and fans, “Let’s learn to be tolerant. Let’s learn to show respect to each other regardless of our religious beliefs. Let’s learn to be human.”

After a long hiatus from acting, Syra has returned to the silver screens essaying the character of a Christian girl Aarzoo Daniel in the popular drama series Sinf-e-Aahan.

Playing a minority belonging to lower class strata in love with their landlord’s son, the character of Aarzoo is tragic but beautifully written. Referring to the tragedy of her character's life, she shared, "Aarzoo’s character is very important to me because she represents minorities and brings forth their very real problems. She has to choose a guy to marry from within their community and even if she does that for her family, she wouldn’t be happy herself.”

“And I think it is not only relatable to people, but they can also understand that people are often bound in painful relationships and Aarzoo teaches them to get out of it, or at least try to,” asserted Syra about why she took the role.