I cannot justify pre-marital sex: Sania

Hyderabad, November 18: Distancing herself from her reported support to South Indian film star Khushboo on the issue of pre-marital sex, tennis star Sania Mirza today said her belief was otherwise.

Maintaining that she was deeply pained at the maligning of her image and making a non-issue into a serious controversy by misquoting her on the pre-marital sex issue, she said in a statement, "they were totally false connotations about my justifying pre-marital sex".

Sania, along with Miss Universe Natalie Glebanova and Formula One star Narain Karthikeyan, had reportedly voiced support to Khushboo at The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit held in Delhi earlier this week.

"I would like to clearly say on record that I could not possibly justify pre-marital sex as it is a very big sin in Islam and one which I believe will not be forgiven by Allah," Sania, a devout Muslim, said in the statement. "Attributing a view point that is totally contrary to what I believe in and what I stand for as a Muslim and as an Indian girl," Sania said, “was a creation of media to sensationalise a story and such sensitive issues needed to be confirmed before making such attempts.”

Khushboo's remarks on pre-marital sex had kicked up a major controversy and taken political twists with activists of PMK and Dalit Panthers of India voicing strong protests against the film star, who later apologised.

An earlier episode involving Sania's dress code and a religious leader issuing a 'fatwa' (religious edict) to "dress as a Muslim girl" had raked up controversy and Sania refused to speak on the issue.

She had also denied that her remarks at the summit that whether her dress was six inches in length was not made in the context of fatwa issued on the subject.

Muslim clerics had reportedly issued a 'fatwa' taking objection to Sania's apparel during tennis matches which they said was ‘un-Islamic’.