250,000,000 IDR = 16,250 USD
I hate religion and overly religious people… you are ruining the planet.
Wtf
Religion is a disease on humanity
Seven years ago, Jakarta’s former Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was charged with insulting Islam and sent to jail after citing a verse from the Koran to mock his political opponents during an election campaign.
I don’t see that this is jailworthy, but at least this one might actually be insulting Islam. The one in the headline is nuts.
For a Christian equivalent, in case that helps anyone: Imagine listening to a speech about how gay rights are important, responding at some point with “amen, sister!” and getting jailed and fined for insulting Christianity. “Bismillah” is straight up idiomatic among plurality Muslim populations, like “wallah” is or “oh my god” among christians.
I think that “amen” has become detached from its religious meaning in that context and is more just an expression of support. There are even churches that are pro gay rights. To me this is more purposely combining something deeply sacred with something deeply profane. If you imagine the religious right’s reaction to a video of someone masturbating while reciting the Lord’s prayer I think you get a bit closer to the cultural significance of this act.
I’m not Indonesian or Muslim, so I may have overstepped.
In my area, which has a large Muslim population, it is said by observant and non observant Muslims, as well as by non Muslims who hang in Muslim circles frequently. To the point that people say it when they cheers with alcohol. Where I am, it seems to be about as disconnected from true religious expression as wallah is. Perhaps that’s the sort of thing that happens more with a diaspora group, or I’m just surrounded by blasphemers.
Should I stop saying it in case I offend more religious Muslims?
Oh I can’t speak to what you should or shouldn’t do in order to respect religious muslims, and I may have been wrong in how I understood “bismillah” to be used in Muslim majority areas. I apologize for stepping out of my lane, my point was simply that in the US the phrase “amen” has become a general expression of assent and lost almost all of its religious connotation outside of when it’s actually being used during a prayer.
That’s 100% what it’s like where I am, completely disconnected. We say it for bon Appetit, cheers, and sarcastic “lie back and think of England”
“wallah” is or “oh my god” among christians.
TIL that “wallah” is a religious phrase
It basically means “I swear to god”
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Wallah wallah wallah uh, tell me more, tell me more…
Wallah, the sound, has a number of roots. I’d only heard it used as an anglicized version of voila, which is relatively recent in the English language and started as a joke.
Here’s a link from someone who put in more work researching this than I can bother with.
Why is it important that she has a lot of followers on tiktok?
According to the article, the law is about spreading blasphemy. It doesn’t say whether committing blasphemy is sufficient on its own, so the number of followers may have been instrumental in the charging, conviction, or sentencing.
It’s also possible that it was merely showing that being famous is no protection.
Religion is nonsensical - anyone claiming supernatural abilities or visions or prophethood today is rightly treated for a mental disorder
The only way to keep people under the influence of religion is to enforce it as the norm. It’s like the horse tied to a plastic chair - once you see the reality of it all, you’re free