Malaysian Muslim comedian faces backlash for ham joke, sparking free speech debate
Malaysian religious authorities plan to summon an award-winning Muslim comedian for questioning over a joke posted on social media about ham that has ignited intense religious sensitivities in the Muslim-majority nation and raised questions over the boundaries of free speech in a culturally diverse society.
He humorously commented on the word ham in the name of an iced coffee drink – ham sap kopi – that he jokingly suggested could “lead me down the wrong path in so many ways”.
The agency has also filed a police report and is collaborating with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to push for a possible suspension of social media accounts and removal of the allegedly offensive content.
“Jakim will never compromise with any act of making fun of Islamic teachings and hurting the sensitivities of Muslims,” the department’s director general Sirajuddin Suhaimee said in a statement late on Wednesday.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/...ech-debate
Malaysian religious authorities plan to summon an award-winning Muslim comedian for questioning over a joke posted on social media about ham that has ignited intense religious sensitivities in the Muslim-majority nation and raised questions over the boundaries of free speech in a culturally diverse society.
He humorously commented on the word ham in the name of an iced coffee drink – ham sap kopi – that he jokingly suggested could “lead me down the wrong path in so many ways”.
The agency has also filed a police report and is collaborating with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to push for a possible suspension of social media accounts and removal of the allegedly offensive content.
“Jakim will never compromise with any act of making fun of Islamic teachings and hurting the sensitivities of Muslims,” the department’s director general Sirajuddin Suhaimee said in a statement late on Wednesday.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/...ech-debate
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
