KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1: Penang-based rights group Citizens International has urged the government to revoke an approval for a concert by an Iranian singer who was charged for blasphemy last year.
In a letter to Home minister Hishamuddin Hussein, the group's chairman S.M. Mohamed Idris (right) said Mohsen Namjoo, an Iranian singer songwriter who lives in Europe, had ridiculed the Qur'an in one of his songs.
"In October last year, he was prosecuted by the Iranian court and sentenced to a five-year jail term for ridiculing the Qur'an in a song. Although, initially before the sentence, he apologized saying that he did not mean to make fun of the Qur'an but subsequently he retracted his apology," wrote Idris in the letter made available to Harakahdaily.
Idris called on Hishamuddin to stop "this blasphemous singer" from holding a concert in Malaysia, scheduled on February 18 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Following his unwelcome remarks on the Qur'an, Namjoo (right) reportedly said he would not continue 'self-censuring' himself and read a poem attacking the much revered late leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatullah Khomeini, who overthrew the Shah dictatorship in 1979 to establish modern Iran.
"In this 'poem' he is not only insulting Iran's leader and Imam Khomeini, but commits blasphemy when, in language that is very vulgar and disgusting, he insults God, our beloved Prophet (saw) and other prophets," Idris said, adding that Namjoo's diatribe can be viewed on online video site YouTube.
Idris also referred to Western praise of Namjoo’s third album OY, pointing out one reviewer who hailed Namjoo for touching on sexual intercourse "and its aftermatch" as well as other subjects challenging Muslim morality.
“Namjoo touches each taboo (in Iranian society) honestly and transparently. He truly does not shy away from depicting each one in great details, be it the supreme leader in the last song 'Gladiators' or singing the Koran versus again (which he has stated that, it’s not his intension to insult or cause offence), in 'Shams', or describing a sexual intercourse in Binazir,” ran a commentary on his album by online review site, WordPatch.
Namjoo's audience in Malaysia are likely to comprise of the growing Iranian students and expatriate community in the Klang Valley, the bulk of whom hail from wealthy families in Iran. They are believed to be among the largely secular Iranian diaspora which have hitherto established themselves in Europe and America.
Many of them have recently entered Malaysia on student visas as well as under the government's 'Malaysia My Second Home' programme.
In a letter to Home minister Hishamuddin Hussein, the group's chairman S.M. Mohamed Idris (right) said Mohsen Namjoo, an Iranian singer songwriter who lives in Europe, had ridiculed the Qur'an in one of his songs.
"In October last year, he was prosecuted by the Iranian court and sentenced to a five-year jail term for ridiculing the Qur'an in a song. Although, initially before the sentence, he apologized saying that he did not mean to make fun of the Qur'an but subsequently he retracted his apology," wrote Idris in the letter made available to Harakahdaily.
Idris called on Hishamuddin to stop "this blasphemous singer" from holding a concert in Malaysia, scheduled on February 18 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Following his unwelcome remarks on the Qur'an, Namjoo (right) reportedly said he would not continue 'self-censuring' himself and read a poem attacking the much revered late leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatullah Khomeini, who overthrew the Shah dictatorship in 1979 to establish modern Iran."In this 'poem' he is not only insulting Iran's leader and Imam Khomeini, but commits blasphemy when, in language that is very vulgar and disgusting, he insults God, our beloved Prophet (saw) and other prophets," Idris said, adding that Namjoo's diatribe can be viewed on online video site YouTube.
Idris also referred to Western praise of Namjoo’s third album OY, pointing out one reviewer who hailed Namjoo for touching on sexual intercourse "and its aftermatch" as well as other subjects challenging Muslim morality.
“Namjoo touches each taboo (in Iranian society) honestly and transparently. He truly does not shy away from depicting each one in great details, be it the supreme leader in the last song 'Gladiators' or singing the Koran versus again (which he has stated that, it’s not his intension to insult or cause offence), in 'Shams', or describing a sexual intercourse in Binazir,” ran a commentary on his album by online review site, WordPatch.
Namjoo's audience in Malaysia are likely to comprise of the growing Iranian students and expatriate community in the Klang Valley, the bulk of whom hail from wealthy families in Iran. They are believed to be among the largely secular Iranian diaspora which have hitherto established themselves in Europe and America.
Many of them have recently entered Malaysia on student visas as well as under the government's 'Malaysia My Second Home' programme.
