SANIA MIRZA

Sania Mirza (born November 15, 1986) is an Indian tennis player. She was born in Mumbai but brought up in Hyderabad. Coached by her father Imran Mirza, she began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She was the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with career high rankings of number 31 in singles and 24 in doubles. She is now ranked 46th in singles and 38th in doubles as of June 21st, 2007.

Hackles have been raised in some Islamist quarters supposedly due to her attire not being conformant to Islamic Hijab. According to one report published September 8, 2005, an unnamed Islamic scholar had issued a fatwa, saying that her attire is contrary to what is permitted by Islam. A further report published the next day on this fatwa elaborated that Sania was unfazed by the comments made by Syed Yousaf Bin, the chief patron of the Ulema Board, in Hyderabad.Large numbers of Muslims clerics protested her attire, accusing her of being a "corrupting inflence on the youth"She has been widely attacked and villified in radical Islamist circles ,including a cleric named Haseeb-ul-hasan Siddiqui who said "The dress she wears on the tennis courts…leaves nothing to the imagination, She will undoubtedly be a corrupting influence.". Radical Islamist groups such as Jamiat-ulema-e-Hind allegedly threatened to disrupt her tennis matches, following which the Calcutta police had to heighten security measures to protect her.