Lady Gaga Seen As a Threat to Indonesian Morality

Lady Gaga is about to hit the road and tour India and beyond, but she is being met with opposition. Apparently, the singer's sexy and revealing outfits are forbidden under Islamic law and an important ranking member of Indonesia's highest Islamic authority is calling for Muslims to boycott the singer's concert. In fact, the chairman says Gaga's show intends to destroy the nation's morality. No, that's not an exaggeration. Gaga is a provocateur, and it's not sitting well on the other side of the world. But to suggest that she is aiming to shake the faith-based foundation of a culture is a bit much.

“[The concert is] intended to destroy the nation’s morality,” said Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) chairman Cholil Ridwan, according to the Jakarta Globe. While Ridwan has never seen a Gaga show or performance, he is acting on good authority of second-hand information about Ma Monster's reputation. He is also offended by Gaga showing her private parts during performances. The fact that she is a Western woman does not help her case when it comes to his opinion.

Ridwan asked fans to seek refunds for tickets they purchased to her June 3 show at Gelora Bung Karno. 25,000 tickets have been sold, most of which were moved within two hours on March 10, the day they went on sale. Clearly, the people of Jakarta want to see Gaga. Despite such evidence, he is seeking to end "cultural attacks" such as this, since he fears Gaga will encourage young Muslims to behave similarly.

However, fellow MUI chairman Slamet Effendi Yusif spoke out, saying Ridwan's opinions are his own and not shared. He, on the other hand, has no issue with young Muslims taking in the Born This Way Ball show, since he has faith in their powers of decision-making. “I am sure they know what is good and bad,” he said. “However, I hope Lady Gaga can also wear a proper [dress] in her show.”

Somehow, we don't envision Gaga swapping out her costumes. And since not all the MUI chairmen agree with Ridwan, a haram fatwa forbidding the concert cannot be issued.