Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has recently stirred a controversy by stating English cricketer Moeen Ali would have worked for ISIS had he not played for his national team.

Nasreen had tweeted, "If Moeen Ali were not stuck with cricket, he would have gone to Syria to join ISIS."

Facing backlash, however, she later clarified in a tweet, "Haters know very well that my Moeen Ali tweet was sarcastic. But they made that an issue to humiliate me because I try to secularize Muslim society & I oppose Islamic fanaticism. One of the greatest tragedies of humankind is pro-women leftists supporting anti-women Islamists."

Like many of Moeen's teammates, the cricketer's father, Munir Ali, was also hurt by Nasreen's comment.

Munir said in a statement quoted by Times Now, "I am hurt and shocked to read Taslima Nasreen's vile remark against my son Moeen. In her "clarifying" tweet, where she described her original remark as sarcasm, she also says she stands against fundamentalism."

"If she looks into a mirror, she will know what she tweeted is what is fundamentalist - a vicious stereotype against a Muslim person, a clearly Islamophobic statement. Someone who doesn't have self-respect and respect for others can only stoop to this level."

"Truth be told, I am really angry, but I know I would be playing into the hands of people like her if I let my rage get out of control. If I get to meet her someday, I will tell what I really think of her, on her face. For now, I would ask her to pick a dictionary and see the meaning of sarcasm.

"It's not what she thinks it is. It's not spewing vile poisonous stuff against someone you don't even know and then retracting it by saying it was sarcasm. Of all the people to pick on for her agenda, I can't believe she has chosen my son. Everyone in the cricketing world knows the person he is," he added.

(IBNS)