RM Addresses 'Bad Religion' Controversy
Added 2023-08-30 21:30:01 +0000 UTCComments
It’s actually a really disgusting song. Even if it was to prove a point, why would you pull a religious reference??
ℓєιԃувυց (ℓєι)
2023-11-11 02:24:24 +0000 UTCThe song is hateful toward Muslims, and as a Muslim the song offended me.
Luck poof
2023-10-16 11:48:39 +0000 UTCAND theres even a possibility that Joon shared the song because he related to it so its even more sad to me that he got attacked for sharing a song that he may even find comforting or shows the struggles of being a queer man
V
2023-09-02 23:31:42 +0000 UTCim not Muslim but i really dont see how the song is Islamophobic :[ the song isnt about religion its a metaphor about being queer and about love and yeah joon shouldnt really have to apologize since he didnt even make the song he just shared it on his gram like do people really think joon would openly share a song that was blatantly hurtful
V
2023-09-02 23:29:13 +0000 UTCIts literally not about disrespecting religion lol people are just sensitive because it mentions a word that if you are muslim its bad, but the intent in the song is not at all to bash a religion. Namjoon was so amazing in this live I am proud of him for not bending to people seeking validation in their horrible narratives that THEY created in their heads about Namjoons intentions.
Kimberly Rodriguez
2023-09-01 05:12:28 +0000 UTCI want to make sure as someone who is not Muslim I clarify in the beginning that I am coming to you with intentions of understanding and genuine curiosity, not to argue or change any part of your mind. I would like to engage in a discussion to clarify some differing ideas I am seeing and hearing. This may be a lengthy reply, but I want to make sure I'm being thorough in my communication. As art, including music, is subjective and received by each person differently I think it's important to be informed from multiple perspectives. As a member of the queer community and someone who grew up with very Catholic surroundings (though I am no longer practicing a religion), my impression of the song is of an individual grappling with his sexuality and how that has been framed as one of the worst forms of sin by the world around him. It spoke to the part of my soul that carries religious trauma and the chaos it wrecked on my sense of worth and validity. In that regard, the way I receive that song is one of companionship and solidarity for all of us who have been villianized and hurt by religious intolerance and homophobia from many religions (as there are many religions who pray on their knees - a Catholic mass is constant movement from seated to kneeling). As I mentioned earlier, art is incredibly subjective, and more than one thing can be true at the same time. So, when this all happened I was among the many that were stunned at the backlash. I've grown up hearing Allahu Akbar in many settings so was under the impression it was not regulated in when or where it could be said. I didn't know, until this happened that it should not be put over music. I've seen your comments that this is only to be used by Muslims, but I've also seen that Arabic Orthodox Christians also frequently say this as it translates to "God is greatest" and that would be something that comes up a lot during their religious practice as well. Is there a way to tell that the original lyric was specifically calling out Islam, other than assuming a stereotype of the religion based on the phrase? Is there additional context within the song that would say this is explicitly talking about a taxi driver who is Muslim that I, as a non-Muslim, would be missing? My intention behind that question is to understand where the idea that the song is inherently islamaphobic is coming from given that people who are not Muslim, namely Arabic Christians, also say Allahu Akbar in their religious practice and many other religions also have kneeling as a key aspect of their prayer. Aside from that lyric, is there something I would be missing out of ignorance that expresses islamophic ideals, fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims? If there is, I genuinely would like to be educated on them. In the research I've been doing as an attempt to educate myself I have found many beautiful values within Islam. One of those being the Islamic principle called husn adh-dhan with people. To my knowledge, it's the idea of giving people the benefit of doubt, to actively search and attribute positive reasons to their actions (correct me if I understood it wrong). Through that lens, and given the subjectivity of art and music as well as the (from how I understand it) lack of direct hate or fear-mongering towards Islam, wouldn't the preferred course of action be one to believe this song resonated in some way to Joon that he wanted to share something with those he cares about, while also trusting that he isn't spreading hateful things based on who you've known him to be through action and direct words of respect and appreciation for those of the Muslim faith in the past? Like I said in the very beginning, I'm not trying to change your mind or argue, I'm trying to understand the big picture by pulling from various perspectives. I think the best thing that can come from this event is shared knowledge and further understanding of the many types of individuals that make up all that is ARMY. I can absolutely see how, through the lens of someone who is Muslim this song is disrespectful based on their religious tenents. And if they feel that song is hurtful because of that, they have every right to feel that. To what extent does that hurt out weigh the hurt of a queer community facing hatred and being villianized by many religious beliefs systems? We can't demand that others view things, especially something as subjective as art can be, the way we see it. There are too many people bringing their own lived experiences to the table. I am not Muslim, I do not follow Muslim rules and can't be judged on them. In the same way you are not Catholic and do not follow Catholic rules and can't be judged on them - such as taking their God's name in vain (how many examples of 'omg', 'oh my God', etc. do we see in every day conversation or song lyrics?). Your religious practice is yours alone so you are fully in the right to not like that song if you view it as going against the tenents of your faith, but that is between you and that song. It's not between you and those who may listen to or share that song as it means something different to them and they are not Muslim or to be held to Muslim tenents. If I misunderstood anything or if there is another aspect to this I am not seeing, as someone removed from Islam, please let me know. I welcome any conversation and education that is kind and in the interest of furthering our understanding of each other.
a.k.a Mo
2023-09-01 00:11:43 +0000 UTCI know what you mean and in no way am I ever bashing or slandering namjoon, and I wish he wouldn’t have been called words by others, it’s out of character. I’ve been an army since 2018 and I love namjoon so much and look up to him but him reposting a song that’s Islamophobic hurt me and millions of Muslim armies. Namjoon is someone we care about and willingly support not frank ocean. If I was a fan of frank oceans I would’ve been more angry and hurt towards him but when it’s namjoon reposting that’s hurt us all. I hope frank ocean learns from this and never goes back and namjoon the same. I’m black myself, a kpop fan and Muslim so I don’t have the best of both worlds with people. Either they hate me bc I’m black or bc I’m Muslim and wear a headscarf or I’m listening to kpop so I get it. I am talking about myself and how I feel towards namjoon and frank ocean. Other Muslims are entitled to their own opinions and whatever they feel is okay too without spewing hate or slander towards any of them! But personally I will never support frank ocean or listen to his songs and that’s it.
Mari ?
2023-08-31 19:35:46 +0000 UTCHere to say that I don't support any hate Muslims have received from non-muslims based on religion. I also don't support Muslims running this ill informed smear campaign on Namjoon while actively being hypocrites. Unless you are following every single law of Islam then you should show some grace. If you make mistakes/sin as a muslim but you know that Allah knows your heart and will accept your duas and prayers, then you should extend the same grace and understanding to a non-muslim . The use of the word is prohibited in songs but not inherently islamophobic, Frank Ocean didn't know but when he was educated he made sure to always change the live lyrics to be respectful. All Namjoon did was share a song that he liked, he did not write, produce nor release the song, he is a consumer like you and I. You should not hold him accountable or throw lies on his name for what someone else did.
dulseokbangtan
2023-08-31 18:31:25 +0000 UTCI completely disagree y’all are heard you can have a right to feel offended or hurt. But blatantly calling Joon Islamophobic for listening to a song is wrong. Frank Ocean deserved criticism for using a phrase he shouldn’t have but that was out of ignorance because he’s not Muslim the song in itself was not Islamophobic because he never said anything bad about Islam. People are constantly being labeled as Islamophobic when it’s not the case. I think grace also needs to be extended to others in that regard. As a black person in general and in K-pop we get way more shit than anyone. No one cares about black folks so I understand what that means and what it looks like. When ppl or idols are being antiblack and appropriating our culture nobody cares. They forgive them and move and tell us not to be mad about it. I’m not Muslim and I know you may feel it’s not my right to speak but wrong is wrong and right is right. And what happened with Joon I don’t think was fair.
Ash
2023-08-31 17:40:47 +0000 UTCUhm no. U cannot go around calling anyone whatever you want. This fucking “free speech” shit is getting out of hand. Y’all r using it to disrespect people. And “free speech” doesn’t exempt you from the consequences of the shit you say. Ur a fucking disgusting person.
Livia Bible
2023-08-31 14:47:30 +0000 UTCYou are NOT the only ones to go to your knees when you pray🤣, nobody is telling you how to feel, but the fact that y’all are coming for RM ass like he made the song is hilarious to me, this song has been out FOR YEARS, and has nobody said nun when other artist reposted it, has nobody said nothing about how bad this song is, but here comes RM sharing something that he might like or he might identify with, we all know he is not dumb enough to think “this song is fcking disgusting, but idc imma still post it and humiliate all of my fans, then imma destroy my career and my peers”
Kiara Fulgencio
2023-08-31 10:27:14 +0000 UTCLooking at these comments is crazy how non Muslims still think they have an opinion in this matter, talking about mostly half of these comment sections I cross through. When a Muslim person feels offended or upset about a situation we’re talked bad about but let it be someone from another race, religion, or someone with a different gender identity. Y’all preach peace, love, equality bs but that don’t exist when Muslims say they feel hurt. I’ve had an army bash islam and say horrendous words about it because I said “namjoon is a public figure, I wish he would’ve felt sorry towards us Muslims armies for feeling hurt but frank ocean should’ve done more research and it’s an unacceptable behavior of him” n tell me why this army started calling me slurs, saying evil things about Islam n how namjoon is the best etc. THAT FUCKING HURT! N I know namjoon shouldn’t have received hate or any sort of slander bc he’s also human n feels hurt. But I swear these non Muslim armies are making things worse.
Mari ?
2023-08-31 10:26:44 +0000 UTCFirst of all, everyone has the right to call anybody or anything whatever they want, that’s called “freedom of speech”, second of all y’all are coming for RM like he made the song, I also looked up the meaning of that song and it has NOTHING to do with what y’all are yapping about in the comments, you cannot demand respect, RM has every right to not apologize if he hasn’t literally done anything wrong.
Kiara Fulgencio
2023-08-31 10:22:28 +0000 UTCWait so Angie, Frank ocean has google source, internet source u name it and he will find the meaning of ‘Allahu akbar’ ain’t no way he remembered allahu akbar spelling, wording etc but never searched up the meaning? He could’ve just said “god is the greatest” but nah then proceeds to say it’s a bad religion if it brings me to my knees. WE LITERALLY GO ON OUR KNEES IN PRAYER. Nah it’s an Islamophobic song and you can’t tell us how to feel!
Mari ?
2023-08-31 06:27:58 +0000 UTCAlso it's haram to expose others' sins and judge others so while y'all are dragging Joon for this song, why are you listening to music which is also haram? The double standards and hypocrisy of it all. Understand his heart and believe his words. He does not need to apologise.
dulseokbangtan
2023-08-31 01:50:57 +0000 UTCIts not an islamophobic song, he doesn't say anything negative about Islam. The song used Allah's name which is prohibited but how would a non muslim know that and he wasn't being disrespectful or hateful to the religion. That's like swearing to God is prohibited but doesn't make someone anti-christian. Correct his use of the word or phrase but he didn't say anything bad. Namjoon is right and he didn't need to apologise for anything. He shared the song, why are people fighting him and not Frank Ocean??? I stand with Namjoon.
dulseokbangtan
2023-08-31 01:45:36 +0000 UTCI think what I've come to learn from all of this, and I'm a non-Muslim, is that people go straight for pitch forks, and not actually opening up a conversation to educate people. Which is really disheartening. I'm not saying everyone isn't open to "educating" people on this matter, but a large majority are just throwing hate. I mean that for non-muslims that are joining the "I hate Namjoon" bandwagon, and also those being completely disgusting towards Muslim Army and Muslims in general. I've seen a lot of valid points from each side here; do I personally see what the big uproar is over Namjoon playing this song, no. I was wholeheartedly confused when all of this hit the fan. But I'm also not religious or fall under the Islamic faith, so how you all are feeling about it and towards it is very valid. It's valid and true to you, so I'm here to listen and learn. Now, BTS is a very influential group; they've done wonders, but they're all still relatively young. And also, South Korea in the last decade or so is just starting to become more open to other cultures (religion, skin colour, and more- you name it!). But they are still very much behind, JK still has to hide his tattoos because of the stigma in South Korea around them. I think Army holds them too far up on a pedestal and forget that they are human. And being human means you don't know everything. They also might not have the same opinions/beliefs as you. Namjoon clearly doesn't see what is wrong with sharing the song and spoke about his intent and non-intent; it's now up to him to look into it, and see where you guys are coming from at the end of the day. But we also have a choice on how this all plays out, non-muslim Army shouldn't be throwing hate to Muslim-Army, and no one should be pressuring/demanding Namjoon to make an "apology". We all have the choice to follow who we follow, you don't owe anything to BTS and BTS doesn't owe us anything. And if we feel like they "owe" us because we spent money, followed them for a decade, and or praised them, then we as a fandom need to reevaluate ourselves as humans. (PS. This is also Nigel's Patreon and he's allowed to post whatever content he wants. Again, you can follow and unfollow- that's your power as a person.)
emma taylor
2023-08-31 01:37:49 +0000 UTCNo fucking way u just said that using a slur doesn’t make someone homophobic, racist etc. fucking wow. Ur a moron. SAYING SACRED PHRASES OF ISLAM WHERE IT IS TO ONLY BE USED BY THOSE OF THAT RELIGION IS LITERALLY ISLAMOPHOBIC 💀
Livia Bible
2023-08-31 01:21:23 +0000 UTCYour point is 100% is valid and i do agree in some way with it. The first time namjoon used and compared himself to Allah, i was offended but i did also think it was unfair to say he was islamophobic for doing it bc, like you said, not everyone knows every single rule about every single religion. However he was called out but didn’t address it or apologized back then which i thought meant he either didn’t see the discourse (which i doubt bc there were even articles about it) or he wasn’t allowed to speak on it (we all know how restrictive K-pop companies are). However i feel like this time, since he clearly saw the discourse, the least he could’ve done is do 3 seconds of research to figure out why Muslim fans were offended. Now as for the apology, for me personally i consider it basic respect bc if i do anything that is considered problematic or offensive i would think saying sorry would be the bare minimum but even if he didn’t i would’ve felt better about this than him going on live in front of millions and saying what he did. Like you said i agree that he cannot differentiate between haters and genuine criticism but at 30 y/o (like he was so proud to remind us in that vlive) he is too grown to not be mature enough to differentiate and him going around saying “its just a word!” Makes this 100000000 times worse and is even more offensive to me than him posting that song bc it shows he didn’t care or respect us enough to even try to understand where we were coming from.
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 01:07:27 +0000 UTCI read most of your comments and just wanted to chime in respectfully, as a non-Muslim. I really respect how thorough you've been in explaining to non-Muslims what this song means to you, and how you perceive it specifically as a queer Muslim. If I may make one "objection", or more like a disagreement to one of your statements here.. it's possible that Namjoon doesn't know the significance/blasphemous-ness of comparing himself to your god. Most religions don't seem to have strict rules about non-believers saying their gods' names, for example how much of modern music even dating back to the 50s say "Jesus" in the lyrics, and sometimes even "Buddha". Rappers nowadays say "Jesus" all the time. So it could be that Namjoon is like most people, who aren't educated in religions they aren't affiliated/familiar with. And so, it's likely he thought mentioning your god was the same as how non-believers mention Jesus and Buddha all the time in music. (I'm recalling now Cypher 3 as well, where Namjoon mentions "Buddha", despite not having a religion himself). Just wanted to make that note. I feel like it's hard to expect people to be extremely well educated on religions or topics that aren't relevant to them in their daily lives. I wish we all had the time to learn about everyone's cultures/etc, but realistically, we don't.. and especially with people as busy as BTS, I wouldn't expect them to have the time to study extra cultures, especially with their language barrier. But I also agree with what you said in that, me being an overly apologetic person.. if I knew I'd offended anyone, I'd apologize to no end lol. But I think someone else wrote here a really valid point– the members get so much hate thrown at them, that it's likely hard for them at this point to discern between genuine criticism and people just mob-mentality throwing hate at them– again, particularly with the language barrier.
Seneca
2023-08-31 00:55:20 +0000 UTCI get what you’re saying and i dont think namjoon was islamophobic for doing that but he still unintentionally hurt the Muslim community by sharing an islamophobic song and i would rather have preferred he never addressed the situation rather than address it the way he did bc imo THAT was islamophobic. Dismissing us and saying “its just a word” is islamophobic for me bc it shows he doesn’t care or respects Muslims (but that’s just my opinion)
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 00:49:43 +0000 UTCThank you!! I 100% agree with you i think namjoon is incapable of differentiating hate from criticism but like he said, he’s a grown 30y/o man so i expected more maturity from him than this type of childish behaviour, and again, it shows he’s not open to learning or doesn’t care enough to. mind you, namjoon is a unicef and Korean spokesperson so his actions and words hold soooooo much more weight and importance imo. He’s supposed to be a role model but that is not what he is doing at all. Also, the fact that he spent the last 2 weeks posting shady posts and stories on Instagram including one where he was sending the middle finger to his “haters” (which with what he said on live means that he considers Muslims criticizing him to be haters and is basically telling them to fck off) is just so disrespectful and immature… but again thank you so much for staying respectful and understanding my point of view it means a lot when people take the time to respect my religion and listen to me, its been so rare these days so thank you! And you’re really well spoken and mature for a 13y/o im really impressed!!❤️
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 00:47:12 +0000 UTCRereading my comment I think I sounded like I’m defending namjoon to much with the whole Kanye comparison saying you shouldn’t call him out so I’m sorry for that but I’m saying it’s unfair for people to call him islamaphobic for that reason I think ignorant on that subject is a little more appropriate I’m sorry:)
Mazouri Beasley
2023-08-31 00:43:47 +0000 UTCYeah I get it and I’m black so saying “it’s just a word” is something I hear a LOT💀 I think his statement was uneducated but as you can see I was also uneducated before commenting and but instead I made that clear so it shows im welcome to being educated I think BTS endured so much hate specifically namjoon so when you reach that point you can’t separate hate and criticism for something YOU did I personally think coming for namjoon for the initial post is like coming for someone for liking kanye saying they support the shit he does but like I said I’m 13 (almost 14 wish me a happy birthday) so I have a lot of learning and growing to do and I think that will never change I will continue to learn and grow even when I’m 30+ thanks for the reply!! You are very confident in your religion and that’s a fantastic trait to have I hope I can stand up for what I believe is right more as I get older!<3
Mazouri Beasley
2023-08-31 00:40:05 +0000 UTCWell i wish i was on your side of twt :( personally I’ve seen a lot of posts about him addressing the situation with over 50k likes and over 10k qrt praising him for not apologizing. Me and my Muslim friends have been terrorized whenever we’ve tried to speak about this issue to the point that most of my friends have completely deactivated their accounts (and 2 of them even got doxxed for speaking out). I also have Muslim friends from other fandoms who have tried to speak out and help us but they’ve received the same treatment if not worse ( a lot of army’s chose to weaponize their faves problematic actions to shut them up for speaking up). It’s been a nightmare for us unfortunately:(. A lot of armys are overly protective of the boys and see any type of criticism as an attack and immediately jump on them. It’s sad to see how toxic and problematic the fandom has become.
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 00:39:37 +0000 UTCSo to answer your question i did expect an apology but obviously i want it to be genuine bc that would show me he did his research, understands why the song is problematic (and therefore might be more careful in the future) and respects the Muslim community enough to listen to what we have to say and acknowledge he could have made a mistake. Even if he had no ill intent he still shared an islamophobic song to over 40MILLION people which in a way helps promote it. The fact that he didn’t remove it, stayed silent for weeks, posted several extremely shady posts and then came on live and refused to apologize has also left the door WIDE open for Islamophobia against any Muslim trying to call him out. Maybe he didn’t see all the Islamophobia his Muslim fans had to endure (which i doubt he didn’t but whatever) but it doesn’t change the fact that his actions have opened the door for a lot more hurt for Muslims. A lot of us feel betrayed and hurt not just by his actions but also by his dismissal of the situation (and seeing people online celebrate and praise him for dismissing our pain hurts even more). I used to feel like namjoon loved all his fans but after what happened im genuinely putting that into question…
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 00:30:39 +0000 UTCExactly!!!
JenH
2023-08-31 00:30:11 +0000 UTCAnd like i told 3292488328 times today Angie, the reason why the song is considered islamophobic is bc he used sacred words and phrases that should be used EXCLUSIVELY BY MUSLIMS now can you please stop talking about a topic you have no rights to talk about and show basic respect and decency?
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 00:23:14 +0000 UTCNo i get what you’re trying to ask and it’s a genuine question. Personally i feel like if he took even five seconds to do his research and respect us enough to acknowledge the fact that Muslim peoples protesting are more than just “haters” he would have realized that to us, its not just a word. It’s blasphemous and disrespectful to ou religion. Honestly, i can 100% believe him when he said he had no ill intent (even tho it was not his first time sharing an islamophobic song so i would have expected him to get educated on it by now) but the fact that he said “oh you guys its just a word” REALLYYYYYY hurts. Also let me put it in another way. If you were a famous celebrity with a lot of influence and unknowingly shared an anti black song and black people were offended and asked you to apologize, would you? Would you not want to figure out why exactly the song was considered anti black and then when you did, would you not feel like the right thing to do would be to apologize? Would you feel comfortable going on live in front of millions and dismissing the pain and hurt of the offended community by saying “ it’s just a word! I’m a grown (wo)man im 30y/o im not going to apologize!”. Personally i would never have done what he did and i feel like apologizing for hurting a community is the bare minimum but that’s just me…
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 00:20:18 +0000 UTCIt’s ok, im glad you took the time to read my message and listen to what i had to say (which unfortunately isn’t done by a lot of people). I’d just like to specify a couple of things so there’s no misunderstanding. First is that i dont think frank oceans goal was to mock islam, but it can kind of look that way bc of the words he used. The full context is that the song is about the experience of him as a gay man and the struggles he’s experienced including the homophobia “present” in many religions. he’s describing a conversation he had with a Muslim taxi driver and in his lyrics he says the taxi driver answered him back Allahu Akbar (god is great) and told frank to pray. Even tho the conversation is not painted in a negative way its still made a lot of Muslim uncomfortable (personally i love the meaning behind the song but the fact that the only religion present is islam makes me iffy). Unfortunately Allahu Akbar is often HEAVILY correlated with terrorism, which is in turn HEAVILY correlated with Muslims for a LOT of non muslim people and has been used against Muslims to mock us or to justify Islamophobia for decades now which is another reason why we feel uncomfortable when it is not used by non Muslims (other than the fact that it just shouldn’t be said). Another thing i wanted to specify is that namjoon first offense against Muslims was when he wrote a song a couple years ago in which he literally compared himself to our god (and he said the word Allah). This is double offensive bc not only are non Muslims not allowed to say His name, but comparing yourself to our god is also considered blasphemous. Finally ill add this here if you want to educate yourself further: other bts members have worn jewelry with sacred scripture from the quaran (our holy book). Not a single member has apologized for their islamophobic actions yet.
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-31 00:10:26 +0000 UTCHi! So I’m a young fan and I understand I have no say in this conversation and I’m not saying this to argue or say muslim people should just excuse franks words but does that mean namjoon meant this in a harmful way? Wouldn’t you want a genuine apology from him I do understand but if he doesn’t know what he’s apologizing for what’s the point of saying apologizing or if he’s no sorry at all what’s the point of saying he’s sorry if it has no meaning in it he can’t say he’ll change his behavior if he doesn’t know what was bad in the first place again I understand both parties and please trust me when I say I’m not trying or intentionally putting my voice over yours because obviously your opinion is ALOT more credible then mine I’m saying this to be educated not to be ignorant in no way whatsoever I might even regret making this comment 🤦♀️
Mazouri Beasley
2023-08-31 00:09:42 +0000 UTCThank you for this 💕💕💕
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 23:54:51 +0000 UTCAs we’ve told you a million times before, you dont need to fcking dissect the song to know its islamophobic. IT IS. Just using the words he used IS considered islamophobic. If you dont believe me go to the first imam (those are Muslim priests btw seeing how ignorant you are i wasn’t sure if you would know THAT) and ask HIM if saying Allahu Akbar as a non Muslim is islamophobic or not. I can guarantee you he’ll tell you the same thing im saying. Now pls stfu and stop inserting yourself in conversations you have no right to be a part of THANK YOU!
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 23:51:09 +0000 UTCYou really thought you did something there huh.. First of all, who the fck are you as a NON MF MUSLIM to tell me, a MUSLIM to do my own research on a song i just said is islamophobic??? PLEASE DO SOME RESEARCH AND LEARN BASIC MORALS AND RESPECT FOR FKCS SAKE. The song IS islamophobic bc he used sacred phrases which shouldn’t be said by non Muslims and said our gods name which AGAIN, should not come out of the mouth of non Muslims. I get the intention behind the songs message and while i, as a QUEER MUSLIM, truly love the message behind the song, it does not change the fact that the song is STILL ISLAMOPHOBIC. You dont get to come into MY comment section and attack ME for expressing how i feel about him sharing and promoting a song that IS islamophobic. And again, clearly he’s a grown man that is used to being babied by us telling him he can do no wrong, when in fact, this is not even the first time he was islamophobic and refused to apologize (mind you Muslim is not the only community he has offended over the years and i have yet to see a single fucking apology). You dont get to tell a Muslim he didn’t do anything wrong ANGIE (that name sounds real fcking CAUCASIAN to me so pls stfu??). I didn’t jump on the bandwagon, i waited WEEKS for him to address the situation and apologize bc i genuinely believed he had changed as a human being and had grown more respectful and understanding over the years but clearly he has not. Next time take those 3 minutes to either educate YOURSELF and listen to muslim voices or shove those 3min up your a$$ and stfu thank you so very much for your input Angie the Caucasian NON MUSLIM who feels very comfortable speaking over muslim people!
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 23:47:41 +0000 UTCTaken from genius “This song uses religion as a metaphor for unrequited love. So when the Taxi driver says “God is great,” he connects that to the curse of un-returned love. He’s already worshiping his own god (his love) and it’s only caused him pain. The last thing he thinks he needs is another deity to worship It’s also true that many religions curse those who are not heterosexual, and Frank is in the process of confessing this about himself. Because of very sparse education in American schools about world religions including Islam, many connect Muslims exclusively to radical Islam, and the phrase, “Allahu Akbar” exclusively to a jihadist war cry. Perhaps Frank, unaware of the Arabic phrase’s real translation, assumes that what the driver is saying is somehow derogatory or chastises. The following lyric clarifies the driver’s intentions.” There is no negative connotation towards muslims- it’s a taxi driver telling him he needs prayer while frank ocean is using it like therapy. I can sympathize with being defensive over your religion but there simply is no situation that is here - just people misunderstanding a song an idol posted.
Angie
2023-08-30 23:34:20 +0000 UTChe isn't calling islam a bad religion omg. Look at the LYRICS. He's saying being in unrequited love is a bad religion. He says it a million times in the song. I am replying to you aren't i? How is that ignoring? If i was ignoring, I wouldn't be commenting. You're ignoring the song and blatant lyrics and assuming it's offensive cause of the title? And regardless if he used the phrase, that doesn't automatically make someone islamphobic. Just like using f or n slurs or any slurs at all doesn't automatically make someone homophobic or racist, etc. The use of the phrase was literally to quote a taxi driver and shows frank's confusion because he didn't know what he was saying. It's literally in the song. He didn't know what the term meant. He's quoting someone, who IS muslim. And the taxi driver is telling him to pray. It's portrayed in a nice way.
Angie
2023-08-30 23:30:20 +0000 UTCThe least FANS can do is their OWN research on a SONG that Namjoon was just SHARING. Read the lyrics. Do your research. I assume you're a grown woman. He has literally no reason to apologize. Every fan is their own human and he's a grown ass man who can apologize when he's actually sorry, and he clearly isn't cause he rightfully thinks he did nothing wrong. Cause he didn't. Actually listen to the song instead of jumping on a bandwagon of people who also didn't listen to it and saw a tiny screenshot of lyrics posted by a person who doesn't even like BTS. This was all literally started from a hater and the own fandom listened to them, it's ridiculous lol. The song is not even 3 minutes long. Take the 3 minutes to listen to it if it bothers you that much instead of writing a post that just spreads false information.
Angie
2023-08-30 23:16:42 +0000 UTCHe used sacred words that only are supposed to be used by the Muslim community, and idc if ur gay (I’m literally a lesbian) it doesn’t give u the right to call Islam a bad religion AND use their sacred words for their God. Multiple Muslim people have spoken about how the song is openly Islamophobic and ur over here completely ignoring them.
Livia Bible
2023-08-30 23:13:28 +0000 UTCAlso thanks for educating us!
Jody Unapologetically Me Weston
2023-08-30 23:12:08 +0000 UTCi dont think people realize the song is full of metaphors and analogies. It's also a song about frank ocean being a gay man and having an experience with a taxi driver, where HE misunderstood him. I did a lot of research on the song from this incident and i think people are jumping the gun without trying to understand the song. Armies spend hours researching and dissecting bts lyrics, but can't spend ten minutes looking up the meaning of a song? Frank ocean apparently had a lot of bad experiences with religion hence his assumptions in the literal song that he writes about, and I (a lesbian) also witness this often (mainly from christians). It doesn't matter if most christians, muslims, etc think everyone is loved, when the reality is that in most religions, there are people who use it to spread hate. And Frank ocean is writing about his own experience and most of the song is used to make an analogy on unrequited love. Just spend ten minutes looking it up. The song literally ends with "it is a bad religion to be in love with someone who can never love you".
Angie
2023-08-30 23:06:55 +0000 UTCThen 5secs later the birds are chirping and the Sun is out 😂
Amber Espinoza
2023-08-30 23:05:16 +0000 UTCCudos to you for standing up for yourself and other Muslim fans.
Jody Unapologetically Me Weston
2023-08-30 23:04:41 +0000 UTCI understand that, Im also on twitter (and luckily have not seen any islamaphobic ARMYs) and I don't see why they would be like that! sure, they can defend him if they want but they don't need to dismiss how you and many other Muslim ARMYs may be feeling... im sorry you've had to see that :(
Makayla Vante
2023-08-30 22:55:44 +0000 UTCI see where you’re coming from and I agree. I didn’t know that things where that bad because I actively stay away from Twitter. It gets so toxic. But hearing that other “army” are bullying Muslim ARMY and diminishing their justified opinions is sickening. If Namjoon had at the very least acknowledged everything it might have stopped those “army” from their toxic behavior.
Amber Espinoza
2023-08-30 22:50:50 +0000 UTCLiterally just went through a hurricane. Just another Wednesday!!!
JenH
2023-08-30 22:45:55 +0000 UTCThe thing is a lot of Armys were being Islamaphobic in defending him. It was so bad. I was harassed because I said I was offended but will wait to see what he would say. I got so many you were never an Army, please leave the fandom, great fandon cleanse etc (I'm not a stan I was a casual listener) dragging my religion too. He lost over 200,000 fans and he still didn't apologise for offending people. The fact that he's 30 should be enough reason to see even if he didn't intend to hurt his fans he did hurt them. I just felt bad for Muslim Armys tbh.
Dina Baybez
2023-08-30 22:45:54 +0000 UTCI deeply apologize for my insensitive remarks. As I previously stated I read a bit about the song. I knew about the phrase he used but I did not know the phrase he used was also used as a demeaning phrase to the Muslim community. These different things along with the song title definitely makes it Islamophobic. He’s making fun of and spitting in the face of Islam. I did not know that that this was Namjoon’s second time sharing a song that was Islamophobic. That changes my perspective some. I don’t know anyone around me that is Muslim so I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation (not using it as an excuse btw). Once again I apologize for my insensitive comments and thank you for educating me on this.
Amber Espinoza
2023-08-30 22:43:47 +0000 UTCATP the damage is done but an apology from him would’ve been nice bc not only would it have made us feel seen, heard and respected but it also would’ve maybe helped stop the hate Muslim army’s received. I’m on twitter and seeing people celebrating him refusing to apologize, saying he did nothing wrong, calling him a king and praising him left and right has genuinely made a lot of Muslims including myself feel sick.
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 22:39:32 +0000 UTCRight like omg???? What pisses me off is how literally EVERYONE feels entitled to an opinion on whether or not the song is islamophobic as if they had every right.. this whole debacle really showed me how little people actually care about Muslims… and especially since this is namjoon SECOND time being islamophobic and with all the little subtle digs he was sending on instagram and with everyone jumping on any Muslim trying to voice their opinion… this whole situation made me feel sick to my stomach and most of my Muslim army moots feel the same right now a lot of them cried and unstanned this is just such a terrible situation that could’ve been solved by a simple apology. UPDATE: it didn’t even take one hour for non Muslims like miss ANGIE to try to speak over me and tell me how i should feel wowwww what a surprise! Never would have seen THAT coming! I just feel sooooo respected as a Muslim!
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 22:36:08 +0000 UTCRespectfully, everything you said was incorrect.. the song IS islamophobic and for several reason. The undebatable reason is that he used a sacred phrase only muslims should be using, one that include the name of our god (which again, shouldn’t be said by non muslims or non believers). Using that word alone makes this song undeniably islamophobic. Other reasons (that some are still debating) is that using sacred phrases (ESPECIALLY one that has been used over and over to mock, disrespect and weaponized against Muslims) of one specific religion in a song about homophobia called BAD RELIGION just feels very targeted and odd. Especially considering frank ocean grew up in a CHRISTIAN household (which is another thing you said that was wrong). Also to address what you said earlier, even if the intent wasn’t there (tho atp this is his second time sharing islamophobic lyrics so im starting to question if he genuinely didn’t) its still disrespectful for him to share an islamophobic and then refuse to apologize for it like idk if i unknowingly shared an anti black or antisemitic song i would be apologizing profusely for it, ESPECIALLY if i had the platform he does
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 22:32:30 +0000 UTCI know its your channel and Patreon and you wish to express your feelings on certain things but I feel like you reacting to these "controversies" just makes the comment section a whole mess and everyone just ends of fighting with each other... I'm not a Muslim and have never heard the song before so I don't really think I can have a valid opinion on this topic, since I don't know the lyrics or context of the song. However, Namjoon does have a point, he is 30 years old and as much as it could be good to apologize, I don't think it would really undo the damage he has done to any Muslims fans who felt offended by his actions. it could be entirely possible that it was just a song he heard for the first time and didn't think much of it when he posted it, thinking it WAS "just a song", but we would never know that and ARMY should know that he'd never do anything to intentionally offend anyone, just like he said. idk I don't really have much else to say on this topic :/
Makayla Vante
2023-08-30 22:30:33 +0000 UTCI’m personally not Muslim but the amount of hate I’ve seen towards you guys over this is ridiculous. Like BTS supposedly prides themselves on being inclusive and respectful towards everyone and yet here Namjoon is completely ignoring how he insulted and hurt a very large part of his fanbase. The song is blatantly Islamophobic so idk how ppl r saying “there’s still discourse on if it’s Islamophobic or not”💀
Livia Bible
2023-08-30 22:30:07 +0000 UTCI’m glad he stood firm in his belief and didn’t apologize. We don’t know his heart or the intent behind sharing the song. He clearly said what the intent wasn’t. I understand where Muslims are coming from and I empathize, but from some of things I’ve read regarding the song there is still debate whether it is Islamophobic, according to outsiders. Plus to my understanding Frank Ocean was a follower of Islam before he came out as gay. If I have any of this incorrect please don’t hesitate to correct me.
Amber Espinoza
2023-08-30 22:22:40 +0000 UTCOmg thank you for saying this i genuinely felt really uncomfortable with this whole video but i was really scared of saying anything bc i was scared of getting jumped on the way armys have been jumping on Muslim armys since this entire issue started! I’m glad im not the only one feeling that way :(
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 22:20:11 +0000 UTCWith all due respect and love Nigel, i do not think non muslims should have a say on what was or wasn’t a good response to sharing and promoting an islamophobic song and hearing not just you but also the YouTuber who posted this share and praise namjoon for not apologizing really does bother me. First of all, as namjoon said, he is a grown 30 y/o man so i dont see how he couldn’t just do the mature thing and apologize after promoting a song that is disrespectful to an entire religion. I get that he didn’t have bad intentions but the damage was done and the least i expect from someone, especially someone as influential as namjoon is to lead by example and apologize when he does mistakes. Also i find it frustrating to see him not only refusing to apologize but also opening the way for people to jump on any Muslim fans (like myself) who were bothered by his actions and tried to call him out on it. Not only did him sharing the song hurt me, but also having to deal with the Islamophobia me and my friends received when we tried to call him out and seeing him fan the flames by refusing to apologize has seriously made me question why i Stanned him in the first place. I dont want to start any wars i just felt the need to express myself on this situation as a Muslim fan
Anissa Nourani
2023-08-30 22:17:13 +0000 UTCThe issue is that the song is openly islamaphobic, he deserved to be called out Nigel. For u to be ignoring that and agreeing that “it’s just a song” is extremely disrespectful. Wow.
Livia Bible
2023-08-30 22:03:09 +0000 UTCIt was a song by Frank Ocean called “Bad religion”
Alana Liddell
2023-08-30 21:47:36 +0000 UTCWhich state do you live in Nigel? 😂 You must have never been to FL in August or September. Peak hurricane season. Hearing you describe the weather I’m like that’s a regular Tuesday at 3pm 🤔
Amber Espinoza
2023-08-30 21:45:29 +0000 UTC
