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From time immemorial, religious violence has always been an issue in Nigeria, with certain extremists seeing religion as a means to censor and impose their cultural values on others, especially those they perceive as unbelievers. However, in the middle of extremism are people who have no respect for established rules and beliefs, with a belief that religious elements and tenets trump the law of the land and can be a means to chase clout or generate conversations.
The disturbing trend recently reared its ugly head after a 45 seconds snippet of a video to his signee, Logos Olori’s single. In the said video, which has now been deleted by the music star, Muslim clerics were praying on a mat at the front of a mosque while the fast-rising star was sitting on the roof of the mosque. As the video progresses, the clerics praying soon start dancing on their prayer mats. That became the bone of contention.
One fan said, ‘How can somebody be done praying and start dancing on the praying mat?’ which leads us to the question, is it haram to dance on a praying mat? After research, we found that dancing per se is not unIslamic, but a Muslim faithful dancing sexually to racy lyrics, especially when unmarried was what was considered haram, which is understandable. But in this case, the lyrics to the song were not racy nor was there any sexual dancing in the music video, which automatically negates the argument behind the backlash.
So what was the problem? Every year we have to deal with issues relating to extremism, people have died as a result, and some lose legitimate deals because certain sects feel offended over actions that have nothing to do with the tenets of their religion but more about the cultural boundaries they have placed on their religion. At some point, boundaries need to be set, and bullying needs to be deterred by the saner faithful.
Although there are cases of extremism, there are also cases where the backlash is warranted. In 2021, when Toyin Lawani took to her social media pages to post a raunchy photo of herself in a nun outfit carrying a cross, Christians, especially Catholics, were particularly offended because the outfit basically plays into a narrative that sexualizes nuns and the use of a cross was another level of disrespect.
It’s a very valid backlash, and although that would not deter her from making such a reference, it highlights the problem. If a Hijabi is sexualized that is a line that should not be crossed. If the Qu’ran is used in a way that disrespects the religion, it should be checked. However, checking the person that committed the said atrocity should be done in a way that teaches them why their actions are harmful, not in a way that condemns them to death.
In the case of Falz’s ‘This Is Nigeria’ video where Hijabi’s were mimicking the viral dance ‘Shaku Shaku,’ valid explanations rather than outrage would have done more good. Artistes have the right to freedom of expression, and they can explore their creativity in whatever capacity they like, except if it brings harm to another person.
While it is only right to condemn cases of extremism, it’s also wise for artistes to put certain things into consideration while trying to talk about ills as regards a particular religion, especially when using elements and symbols of a said religion in art. How would it be perceived? What is the point of this message? Can we tell this story without using this symbol? Every question needs to be answered, and sensitivity and emotional intelligence need to be applied.
On Falz’s project, Moral Instruction, there were multiple cases where he mentioned the ills he has noted in society as regards religious leaders while making sure not to disrespect their religious symbol, all he did was point out the bad eggs. That was different for K1 De Ultimate when he released the video to ‘Yasin,’ a hit single of his where he was dancing seductively with a lady while clerics were chanting ‘Yasin,’ a word used to describe a key figure in the Islam faith. Although both cases attracted outrage from religious sects, one was valid because it was avoidable.
Religious symbols are not props for art, they are historic and spiritual symbols that should be regarded as such. However, extremism should not be tolerated as well. So where do we draw the line, in my opinion, as soon as you are using a religious symbol as a prop, especially without understanding and when you’re not a practitioner of the said religion, you’ve gone beyond your boundaries
The post Religion and Art: When Does Artistic Freedom Become Insulting appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
