In a conversation shared on the IIMUN YouTube channel, Shabana was asked about her relationship with religion during childhood and whether it later became a part of her life. She explained that her father, Kaifi Azmi, was an atheist, while her mother, Shaukat Azmi, followed Islam but did not practise it very strictly.
Shabana also revealed that she frequently uses expressions such as “Mashallah” and “Inshallah” in everyday conversations, something that often draws objections from her atheist husband, Javed Akhtar.
“Sometimes I say ‘Mashallah’ or ‘Inshallah’, and Javed asks, ‘Why do you say that? How would you feel if someone kept saying “Prabhu ji ki marzi” all the time?’ But I feel these expressions have simply become part of my language,” she said.
Shabana further stated that she had never been particularly curious about religion.
Describing Javed as a staunch atheist, the actress explained that she often questions his need to express his views so openly. She said she has asked him why he needs to make his atheism so apparent when people who follow religion find comfort in it.
“If a person finds peace by practising religion, let them do so. Why make them feel bad?” she recalled telling him.
According to Shabana, Javed responds by pointing out that religious people’s statements can make him feel uncomfortable. He questions whether he, too, has the right to feel offended as an atheist.
Speaking about her own identity, Shabana said she identifies as a Muslim and enjoys aspects of Muslim culture, including Eid, Urdu and the food associated with it. However, she clarified that she and her husband do not offer namaz and have no involvement with religious practices.
Despite not practising religion, Shabana believes that faith is a personal matter and that the government should not interfere in it.
Earlier, in an interaction with Zoom, the actress had spoken about religious divisions in the country, saying that extremists from both communities disapprove of her and Javed’s views.
“Extremists from intolerant communities can tolerate neither Javed nor me. Hindu extremists and Muslim extremists, both of them, cannot tolerate us. Seeing this makes us feel that our secular identity is being established. Sometimes a cleric issues a fatwa against us, and sometimes someone calls us terrorists,” she said.
Shabana further argued that the conflict should not be viewed as a battle between Hindus and Muslims, but rather as a divide between liberal and intolerant people.
“We need to understand that this is not a fight between Hindus and Muslims, but a fight between liberal people and intolerant people. Liberal Hindus and Muslims are on one side, while intolerant Hindus and Muslims are on the other. When you look at it from this perspective, you eliminate the poison of using religion to divide people,” she said.
Through her remarks, Shabana has reiterated her position that religious identity and personal beliefs should not become grounds for division, emphasising the distinction between faith as an individual choice and intolerance directed at people with differing views.
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