The most pointed example is the probable cancellation of Lady Gaga's sold-out concert in Jakarta. Despite being her biggest show in Asia and her undisputed popularity among Indonesian youths a small number of Islamic hard-liners have threatened the performer and concert goers leading conservative lawmakers to withhold her concert permit.
Promoters have already sold 52,000 tickets, however the hard-line group, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), has threatened to plunge Jakarta into chaos if Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way Tour” concert takes place as scheduled on June 3. This has led the police to deny Gaga’s concert permit in the capital.
The singer and songwriter faces backlash from groups such as the notorious Islam Defenders Front (FPI), who accuse Gaga of spreading “Satanic verses” through her music. Last week, the FPI's Jakarta branch chief, Habib Salim Alatas said that he would deploy FPI members to intercept the singer upon her arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International.
“We refuse to have Lady Gaga’s feet touch our land. She’s bringing the faith of Satan to our country and will thus destroy the nation’s morals,” he told the Post.
Over the years, several foreign performers have cancelled their previously scheduled concerts in Indonesia, but not one of them was banned by law enforcement agencies. While the police have apparently bowed to pressure to ban the upcoming concert in Jakarta, an official from Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization thinks that the move is “too much”.
Muhammad Imdadun Rahmat, deputy-secretary-general of Nahdlatul Ulama, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that he was against the police’s decision saying “the police should not have gone as far as banning the concert. They should not intervene against the freedom of expression."
What do you think? Is banning a foreign artist from preforming reasonable if there is an assumption they will not respect cultural values? Or is banning a popular artist a form of censorship and control by a small minority which does more to damage the culture as a whole then any uproarious performance could?
What do you think? Is banning a foreign artist from preforming reasonable if there is an assumption they will not respect cultural values? Or is banning a popular artist a form of censorship and control by a small minority which does more to damage the culture as a whole then any uproarious performance could?
