Update: Singapore media authority asks MeWe to remove lewd poll targeting Islamic teachers
Hundreds of creeps who apparently voted on which religious teacher they thought deserved a “gangbang” have sparked an uproar today in Singapore’s Muslim community.
An online poll that purportedly went up on the MeWe social networking platform listed 12 individuals for respondents to pick from, images of which have been circulating since last night. The crass poll has drawn criticism from well-known religious leaders such as Muhammad Zahid Mohd Zin, who said he learned about it from an unnamed female religious teacher and urged the authorities to take action.
“UTTERLY DISGUSTED! I got a distress call from an Ustazah and was shocked!!” he wrote online yesterday, using the Arabic word for a female Islamic instructor. “All listed here in an app are our local Asatizah!!! Who did this must be held accountable! [I’ve] promised them to make sure those involved will be [held] responsible!!”
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The online poll that asked voters “Which Ustazah should be gangbanged?” had at least 245 votes when the screenshot was taken. All circulating images had censored the faces of the women targeted. The online poll was not publicly available when Coconuts’ checked MeWe today. The user who posted it, named “M A,” could not be found on the platform either.
MeWe is a U.S.-based social media platform popular for fringe views due to its lack of moderation.
A separate screenshot of a similar poll, posted April 15 by a user of the same name has also circulated online. The previous poll targeted five individuals and drew around 1,000 respondents.
Others who have weighed in on the matter include Ustazah Fatin Afika, who described feeling “numb” to the incident, which she implied has happened before.
“I never really speak up when someone alerted me on this, because I don’t see the use of speaking up. Cause I know police officers won’t entertain and nobody can do anything about it,” she wrote online last night. She also said that she has witnessed images of local Ustazahs being taken off “Islamic related videos” that were either posted to their respective online platforms or those owned by mosques.
Muslim cleric Irwan Hadi also urged the authorities to take action, while Choa Chu Kang parliamentarian Zhul Rahim encouraged Irwan to file a police report.
“I am utterly disgusted..this shouldn’t be happening to any ladies including our local Ustazat who are the ones providing religious guidance..[and] guys who do this deserve the full force of the law on them..full stop,” Irwan said last night.
“This is totally unacceptable against women and our asatizah. Report Ustaz. The person and the 245 or so who polled must be held accountable. If not here, then the hereafter,” Zhul said in the comments of Irwan’s post.
Local entrepreneur Ahmad Mundzir said he recognized some of the individuals listed in the poll, saying that one of them was the daughter of an Islamic scholar here.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
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