Badu and Her Tattoos

** LATEST POST : On Why We Should Forgive Miss Badu and Be Kind to Non-Muslims **

One of my readers e-mailed me yesterday to ask what is my take on the whole Erykah Badu fiasco which recently took place in Malaysia. If you haven't heard about it, the gist of the story is that her concert which was scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur yesterday was cancelled because a local  newspaper published a controversial photo of her. The photo displays a half naked Badu with a couple of tattoos on the top half of her body. Two of them represented the name of God in Arabic - Allah. The Malaysian Minister of Information, Communications and Culture said the tattoos were "an insult to Islam and a very serious offense.....the exhibition of the symbols [in that manner] for Allah and Prophet Muhammad were unacceptable to Malaysia's majority Muslim people."  

The R&B and hip hop singer was apologetic about the situation and explained that "she had no tattoos and the 'Allah tattoo' at the center of the controversy was body art from a photoshoot referencing "The Painted Lady", a character from the 1973 surrealist film The Holy Mountain by Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. In the film, "The Painted Lady" was a character who had various names of God etched on her skin." Badu also said that "she knew the meaning of the symbol, and that her photo had included the symbol for other names of God, including Jehovah and Yahweh. She said the interpretation of the Jodorowsky imagery was, "We are all one.""



What are the issues here? First of all, the tattoos. Yes, they are haram (forbidden) in Islam. But Erykah isn't Muslim. Secondly, having the word 'Allah' "tattooed" on your body. Yes, I can see why it would be offensive to Muslims but they weren't tattoos and when I say she isn't Muslim it means she doesn't have the appropriate Islamic knowledge regarding the use of kalamullah. Thirdly, the local newspaper's choice to publish that particular image. I don't know what the editors were thinking. Maybe they overlooked it. But they have been suspended from their jobs for the time being. Fourthly, the concert cancellation - was it justified? It's a sticky situation. I'm not sure if it would be a threat to "national security" but like Badu, I understand why it had to be done to avoid further complications.

My opinion? Personally, I'm not very offended by Erykah Badu's photo because I don't think her intention was to defame Islam or any other religion for that matter. She is a non-Muslim artist and people do all sorts of things in the name of art. I get why Muslims would be offended and they have a right to feel that way but I don't think it's enough to make me so outraged that I would start calling her names. Especially because she wasn't aware that it is offensive. Don't get me wrong. I'm just trying to see things from her point of view to gain another perspective. She did it to make a statement about unity and the co-existence of various religions. Just like the time she wore niqab while performing "Words I Never Said" with Lupe Fiaso (who is, by the way, Muslim) during last year's BET awards.

Honestly, I haven't heard or seen any Muslims making a big deal out of the photo but maybe that's just me. And frankly, I'm more outraged by this photo which I saw in the Utusan Malaysia newspaper a few days ago.

I'm sorry I had to show such a graphic image but the reality is these things happen. The caption says, "The body of a female baby with her umbilical cord still attached was found in a river in Kuantan." The article described that this innocent baby was placed in a plastic bag filled with bricks and she was discovered by some men who were fishing at the river. I can't say this particular baby was born to Muslim parents but in many cases in Malaysia, it is so-called Muslims who commit infanticide because they can't deal with the repercussions of having children out of wedlock. Abandoning babies in rubbish bins and leaving them to die. Nauzubillah min zalik (may Allah protect us from that). This is absolutely unIslamic! It's completely against the Islamic belief that every human life is precious and sacred.

"And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide." {Surah An-Nahl, 16 : 58-59}

"And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed." {Surah At-Takwir. 81: 8 - 9}

You want to talk about offending Islam? Some Muslims are better at it than non-Muslims. So no, I'm not mad at Erykah Badu for her "tattoos" because she didn't know any better at the time. After all, I'm sure she learned her lesson because she has apologised. That's just how I feel about it. I have bigger things to be mad about. One of the problems with some Muslims today is that they preach about Islam, a religion of peace and mercy, yet they practice hatred and cruelty. May He protect us from our own evils, forgive us for our shortcomings and guide our Ummah towards the Straight Path. Ameen.

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." {Surah Az-Zumar, 39:53}