20 Jun 12 | Index Index, minipost
A Bahraini blogger has been remanded for 45 days, after posting offence remarks towards Aisha, a wife of the Prophet Muhammad. The unnamed blogger, who admitted the charges, was arrested last week for posting comments deemed “highly negative” in an online forum. Public prosecutor Ali Al Buainain said that the blogger regularly used the same forum to post blasphemous remarks, and had repeatedly re-registered under a pseudonym after being ejected.
20 Jun 12 | Index Index, minipost
The manager of a Malaysian bookshop has been charged for selling a banned book. Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz who manages a chain of bookshops in Kuala Lumpur has been accused of distributing “Liberty and Love” by controversial Muslim author and activist Irshad Manji. The book by Manji, was banned in Malaysia last month after it was deemed offensive to Islam. If found guilty by the Islamic court, Nik Raina faces up to two years in prison. Manji, who believes in progressive reforms in Islam, rose to fame with her book The Trouble with Islam Today, which is also banned in Malaysia.
13 Jun 12 | Middle East and North Africa, Tunisia
On 12 June, the Tunisian Ministry of Culture decided to temporarily close Palais El-Abdelia, where the controversial Pritemps des Arts fair’s closing ceremony took place last Sunday. On the night of 10 June, ultra-conservative Islamists attacked the gallery, claiming that it exhibited artworks offensive to Islam.
During a press conference, the Tunisian culture minister, Mehdi Mabrouk, said that some of the artworks exhibited at Printemps des Arts did transgress Islamic holy symbols — something the fair’s artists deny. He also said that some of these artworks are now under investigation.
“In art, there is provocation. Art sometimes provokes, and this is its role. But there is a red line which separates provocation and the assault on sacred symbols”, said the minister.
After acknowledging the provocative role of art, Mabrouk told Radio Shems FM on the morning of 14 June that six works deemed to be “provocative” had been confiscated.
“There were not art works assaulting sacred symbols, unless Salafis are considered sacred,” said Amor Ghedasmi, the secretary general for Syndicate for Plastic Artists, also speaking on Radio Shems FM. The fair did contain several works criticising Salafis, who advocate for a hardline interpretation of Islam.
He denied that the exhibition featured a work of art depicting the prophet Mohammed. Pictorial representations of prophets and god are considered forbidden in Sunni Islam.
Ghedasmi also offered his own interpretation of a controversial work of art, in which the phrase “Glorious is Allah” is spelled out in ants. “The work illustrates a boy bearing a back bag. It symbolises the heavy burden of education and discipline. Ants are also known to be hard-working, and disciplined too”, he said.
“I ask the ministries of culture and religious affairs to show us the artworks [which they described as offensive to Islam] and also give us their interpretations,” he added.
The Tunisian Ministry of Culture is planning to lodge a complaint against the fair’s organisers for “assaulting the feelings of the fair’s visitors”. Palais El-Abdelia will stay closed until a committee to oversee it is formed.
28 May 12 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Lady GaGa has been forced to cancel her Indonesian concert, as promoters claim the threats made against her were too serious for the show to go ahead. The Born This Way Ball, which was scheduled to take place on 3 June, has been at the centre of a campaign from Islamic hardliners, claiming the show could undermine the country’s moral fibre. Promoters had suggested negotiations were taking place to tone down the gig, ensuring it could go ahead safely, but the pop diva’s management stated there would be no compromise to quiet the religious conservatives. GaGa tweeted an apology to her fans.
