Indonesian police have banned Lady Gaga from performing her sell-out June show due to threats from Islamic extremists. The hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) had threatened to intercept Lady Gaga at the airport and stop her getting off the plane, because they say her show is too vulgar. Such threats are reported to be part of a growing trend in Indonesia for extremists to bully and intimidate anyone who does not subscribe to their hardline Islamic culture. "It is better that we don't give permission rather than that [the concert] ends up being stopped by the people. We have already received a letter requesting us to consider the people's plea [for cancellation]," Saut Nasution, a spokesman for the Indonesian police, told the BBC's Indonesian service. "And the Jakarta Police also refused to recommend a permit for the concert because we don't want people to clash [on the matter]." It comes as there has also been backlash against a book by Canadian lesbian Muslim author Irshad Manji, with the book’s launch being prevented by police in Jakarta for “security reasons”. Last Wednesday, in the university town of Yogyakarta, extremist groups violently broke up a discussion and attacked its 150 attendees. Manji’s associate Emily Rees was bashed with an iron bar by men wearing motorcycle helmets and face masks.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 16th May 2012 - 12:49pm