NEW DELHI: Drawing a distinction between “Hindustani Islam” and the practice of the faith in other parts of the world, actor Naseeruddin Shah on Tuesday condemned sections in the Indian Muslim community who are “celebrating the Taliban’s return to power”.

In a video clip recorded in Urdu, Shah criticised those who have welcomed the revival of Taliban rule in Afghanistan. “Though the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is a cause of concern for the whole world, celebration of the barbarians by a section of Indian Muslims is no less dangerous,” he said.

He said every Indian Muslim should ask themselves if they wanted a reformed, modern Islam — “jiddat pasandi modernity” — or the barbaric values (“vaishipan”) of the past centuries. “I am an Indian Muslim and, as Mirza Ghalib said years ago, my relationship with my God is informal. I don’t need political religion,” Shah asserted