22 August 2016

Malaysian singer Namewee held for 'insulting Islam'

Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, was detained on Sunday. He is known for his profanity-laced music

The offending video, for his song Oh My God, was first released in July and features him rapping in front of places of worship around Malaysia.

Namewee insists that Oh My God was intended to promote religious harmony.

But on Monday Malaysian police remanded the 33-year-old singer in custody for four days to investigate him for "defiling a place of worship with intention to insult religion". The charge carries a jail term of up to two years.

About two thirds of Malaysians are Muslim, though the country also has significant Buddhist, Christian and Hindu populations. But there have been a number of instances in recent years of blogs and certain representations of Islam stoking controversy in the country. [BBC] Read more