FEB 29 — So Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim has cancelled R&B singer Erykah Badu’s KL concert 24 hours before the show was due to start. The reason? Because the tattoos on her body with Arabic characters that look like the word “Allah” will hurt the feelings of Muslims in the country.
No one can tell by looking at Erykah’s picture that The Star newspaper published recently if they are really tattoos or removable body paint, which artistes sometimes use for a photo shoot. Rais himself cannot be sure if they are permanent tattoos, unless he has personally inspected her body. The point is important: if these are not tattoos then she probably would not have the offensive words on her body when she performs. On what basis, then, would Muslims get offended? Why ban the concert?
Even if they are permanent tattoos, I can see other characters in the picture. It’s perfectly possible that the soul singer unknowingly used these characters — including the ones that look like the word “Allah” — as artistic expression, and not a deliberate attempt to offend anyone. Lyrics to rock group Queen’s famous song “Bohemian Rhapsody” contains the word “Bismillah”, but no Muslims I know got offended or were upset. It’s just a song. Rais was not the Minister in charge then, so perhaps that’s why the song was not banned.
The point I want to make is this: public policy cannot be based on the whims and fancies of one Minister, even if he is Rais Yatim. How does he know for sure that the tattoo or body paint has offended Muslims in Malaysia? Is there a guideline saying foreign artistes cannot have tattoos? What if these tattoos carry a certain message that the Minister cannot understand, one that perhaps offends the Muslims of Afghanistan instead? Would the singer be banned? If we have allowed Christians to use the word “Allah” for over 100 years, surely we need not punish Erykah’s fans because she has the word on her body.
Erykah Badu is performing next week in Jakarta and if my wife permits it, I would like to go and see her. I am sure the majority of the 220 million Muslims there do not share Rais’s sensitivities. So much for the moderate Islam that our leaders are so fond of talking about when they are in London or Sydney. The truth is, these leaders are not even sure what kind of Muslims they are. The truth is, the BN is not even sure what “moderate” means. — zaiduntukrakyat.com
* Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is the president of Parti KITA.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.
