• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Genie in a Cross: Popular Cleric Abdul Somad Reported to Police for Mocking Christian Symbol

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
‘Jakarta. Abdul Somad, a popular Islamic cleric, is facing a series of blasphemy charges after a video went viral showing him telling a crowd that the Christian crucifix is the dwelling place for an "infidel jinn."

Blasphemy accusations on a preacher of Islam, the religion of over 80 percent of Indonesians, has put a new spin on the country's problematic blasphemy law, which in the past has mostly been used to prosecute members of religious minorities.

The video, which was uploaded on Saturday, showed the cleric talking about the figure of Jesus on the cross to a rapt audience.

"A woman asked me once, 'Why do I get the chills whenever I think about a crucifix?' Because there is an infidel jinn in the crucifix, because of the statue [of Christ] on it [...]. We should never worship a statue," Somad said in the video.

"If we [Muslims] had to stay in a hospital and we see a crucifix there, cover it up, or we will die as an infidel. We should not let ourselves be transported in an ambulance with a crucifix on it, or let people sing 'Hallelujah' to us. God forbid, we would die as an infidel," he said in the video.’

Read more here: Genie in a Cross: Popular Cleric Abdul Somad Reported to Police for Mocking Christian Symbol
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I see this is coming from Indonesia. Kind of explains it.

Stuck on an island and all that.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I don't know too much about genies, other than what I've learned from I Dream of Jeannie. But considering that she managed to turn an honorable and decent astronaut and Air Force officer into an evil oil tycoon, then maybe genies are not all that they're cracked up to be.
 

Left Coast

This Is Water
Staff member
Premium Member
‘Jakarta. Abdul Somad, a popular Islamic cleric, is facing a series of blasphemy charges after a video went viral showing him telling a crowd that the Christian crucifix is the dwelling place for an "infidel jinn."

Blasphemy accusations on a preacher of Islam, the religion of over 80 percent of Indonesians, has put a new spin on the country's problematic blasphemy law, which in the past has mostly been used to prosecute members of religious minorities.

The video, which was uploaded on Saturday, showed the cleric talking about the figure of Jesus on the cross to a rapt audience.

"A woman asked me once, 'Why do I get the chills whenever I think about a crucifix?' Because there is an infidel jinn in the crucifix, because of the statue [of Christ] on it [...]. We should never worship a statue," Somad said in the video.

"If we [Muslims] had to stay in a hospital and we see a crucifix there, cover it up, or we will die as an infidel. We should not let ourselves be transported in an ambulance with a crucifix on it, or let people sing 'Hallelujah' to us. God forbid, we would die as an infidel," he said in the video.’

Read more here: Genie in a Cross: Popular Cleric Abdul Somad Reported to Police for Mocking Christian Symbol

I'm not sure which is more ridiculous - this guy's religious views or the fact that he's being charged with a crime for them.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
Some quotes utterly stick in my mind because of how true they are

quote-an-atom-blaster-is-a-good-weapon-but-it-can-point-both-ways-isaac-asimov-37-8-0867.jpg
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I'm not sure which is more ridiculous - this guy's religious views or the fact that he's being charged with a crime for them.
For most of it I agree with what you say, but for the last line about not letting people sing hallelujah to you I wondered if that qualifies as hate speech because it seems to be advocating taking away another groups freedom of speech on religious grounds.

That being said the charge of blasphemy is utterly ridiculous.
 
Top