A little over a week ago, a Malaysian rapper named Namewee was arrested by Malaysian authorities. His arrest came as he was returning from Taiwan where he was working with Taiwanese rapper group 911, who also worked on the song in question. The name of the song was “Oh My God” and has gotten Namewee into some hot water because, so authorities claim, it offends Islam. Here’s the ironic part about the song: it was meant to promote religious harmony.
To begin, let’s look at the song’s content. The song features various rappers singing about the difficulties of life with the background including people dressed in the garbs of various religions including Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, and yes, Islam. The rappers are dancing and singing about various hardships while promoting the concept of harmony and God. For example, one rapper talks about being cheated on by his girlfriend. The chorus is mostly about overcoming these obstacles through faith and doesn’t focus on a specific faith just that one should have one.
They then reference each religion, I would imagine being as inclusive as possible. There are two parts that, I suppose, would offend the easily offended Islamic community. First, in the chorus of the song, the rapper talks about going to Mecca and says, “Oh Allah, Please Save Me,” (I know how terribly offensive!). Second, and this was even hard to find, but at one point he rapped in a mosque, or at least a place that looked like a mosque. To just put this out there, the vast majority of the rapping was done in a Christian church, a Buddhist temple, and what appeared to be a Taoist temple as well. Clips of everyday life, mostly sinful acts such as gambling and provocative dancing, are displayed in between the moments when the rap group is singing the chorus in the various religious sites. That’s it!
The song’s message was surprisingly positive, and though it has all the elements of a rap song, including sexual innuendos and provocative displays, they were never in reference to anything religious and certainly were way tamer than the God awful offensive crap that is spewed by American rappers. So, what is the problem? Well, the rapper is Malaysian, which is an Islamic state in the Southeast of Asia. They, like every other Islamic state, have blasphemy laws, something the West does not. Therefore, anything that is even remotely offensive to Islam is punishable under Malaysian law. The real kick of this is Malaysia is supposed to be one of those vaunted “moderate” Muslim states. Isn’t it amazing that there has been no Buddhist, Christian, or Taoist group that has come out against this song and its content? Why is it once again Islam squashing free speech in the pursuit of doctrinal purity?
I would like to use this story has a vis e vis example regarding the Left in this country. Is this any different than the Leftist PC Police silencing free speech in pursuit of doctrinal purity? Does the Left in this country not have its own version of blasphemy laws? Think about it. If you dare question man-made global warming, you are publicly ridiculed. And have we not heard calls for “climate change deniers” to be thrown into prison? What is the difference here? One is a traditional religion that has practiced its doctrine since the 7th Century and the other a byproduct of new age atheist in the pursuit of some higher calling. In the end, though, it is still blasphemy laws that stifle free speech.
In the end, the opinion of a person is simply that, an opinion, but that doesn’t stop the Leftist from publicly labeling you and leading you to social difficulties like loss of job or other problems. Isn’t it amazing how much hardline religious systems and the current Progressive Movement in America have in common? But remember, you’re the intolerant one, sinner!