Posts Tagged ‘Islam’
July 13th, 2012
Indonesia’s Sampang District Court has
sentenced a Shia cleric to two years’ imprisonment for blasphemy. Tajul Muluk was said to have caused ”public anxiety” for his religious teachings. Witnesses said that the cleric encouraged Muslims to pray three rather than five times a day, that the Quran was no longer authentic and that followers need not make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, considered one of the five pillars of Islam. Under Indonesian law,
blasphemy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
June 27th, 2012
The headquarters of a leading
Lebanese TV station Al-Jadeed
were attacked by armed men earlier this week. Five masked gunmen opened fire on the building in Beirut at 9.30pm on 25 June, and set fire to tires in the station entrance. The attack followed the airing of a controversial interview with Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir, a Salafist Imam, who
harshly criticised the Shiite Muslim leaders in the country. Al-Jadeed were forced to apologise for the interview, and any anger it had unintentionally provoked.
June 20th, 2012
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.
June 20th, 2012
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.
May 28th, 2012
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.
May 17th, 2012
Lady Gaga has been
refused a permit to play her sold-out concert in
Indonesia following demonstrations from religious protesters. The permit for the Born This Way Ball, scheduled to take place on 3 June, was refused after Islamic hardliners, lawmakers and religious clerics spoke out against the pop star’s racy clothes and dance moves. Indonesian critics have said that the nature of the show could undermine the country’s moral fibre. Lady Gaga’s promoters in Indonesia will fight for the performance
to go ahead, despite threats that protesters will use physical force to prevent her getting off the plane.
May 17th, 2012
The editor of a Iraqi Kurdish magazine
has been arrested for reprinting an allegedly blasphemous article. Hamin Ary, editor of Kurdish and Arabic monthly publication Chirpa (Al-Hamsah in Arabic) was arrested on 7 May after publishing an article by controversial writer Goran Halmat. Ary was arrested for “offences that violate religious sensibilities”, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The article, entitled “Me and God” was originally posted on Facebook in 2010, and was deemed “offensive to Islam”.
May 15th, 2012
An
Iranian rapper has been
issued with fatwas and faced death threats after releasing a controversial song. Shahin Najafi, an Iranian singer based in Germany, released a song containing references to one of the 12 Shia Muslim Imams. The song, which was posted on YouTube, offended some who claim it insults their beliefs, while others claim the song breaks taboos on expressing views about religious personalities. A religious Iranian website has offered a reward of $100,000 (£62,000) for anyone who kills the rapper.
