KARACHI: Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi took to his Twitter in October to explain that he has to make a very important announcement at the end of this month.
On Thursday, he released a video on his YouTube channel to do exactly that. In the 23 minute video titled “From Atheism to Islam” the actor explored themes of existentialism, his teenage years as an atheist, his faith in science that later led him back to the Islamic faith and his plans for the future in terms of his career and life.
The talk had philosophical notes that showed a completely transformed Abbasi who just a few months ago was tweeting casual rape jokes in July of this year. This new Abbasi has made it clear that his journey towards Islam has been a “very painful process”. After discovering the “divine message”, he aims to restructure his life’s purpose.
The Legend of Maula Jatt actor mentioned that there needs to be a discourse relating to death and the afterlife. He argued that legendary characters such as Genghis Khan and Michael Jackson faced death too and he believed that when his time comes, he will be forgotten as an actor and hence hopes that he is engaging in new life purposes that “will not die after death.” Abbasi noted that his top priorities now are serving humanity and talking about God and religion.
In the video, the actor explains that acting and dramas are not “haram“. He adds there are currently no films and dramas that he can see himself doing because they are not in line with his new spiritual and religious beliefs. He adds that due to this he can not see himself acting and will only act in films that are beneficial for this cause. He has also clarified that he does not want to take part in religious debates and competitions but wants to simply share this newfound knowledge.