INDONESIA
Jakarta Post-May 10
A popular preacher is under fire on Twitter for saying Muslims who buy from Starbucks will go to hell. In a 52-minute video uploaded by Islamic channel Fodamara TV on Youtube, Abdul Somad, the preacher in question, says that Muslims will be thrown into hell if they buy from Starbucks, as the coffee shop openly supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
He made the statement when answering a question from a member of the audience on whether Muslims are allowed to buy from a café that supports LGBT rights. He said: “In the afterlife […] the angels will ask the [LGBT community], ‘How did [your community] grow so big?’ [The LGBT community] will respond, ‘Because of the donations [given to us]. ‘Who gave you the donations?’ ‘Those who are in heaven.'”
God will pull out those who are in heaven and throw them into hell for donating to Starbucks, he added.
Although the video was uploaded in October 2017, it went viral on Thursday after several Twitter users uploaded snippets of the video on social media and criticized the cleric for being ridiculous.
One of them was Muslim scholar Akhmad Sahal, who said Somad’s logic was contradictory as the social media channel that the cleric uses also supports LGBT rights. “Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, all of them support LGBT rights. Based on his logic, wouldn’t that mean its users will go to hell too?” Sahal said on his Twitter account. “My penniless fellow, you are free from hell’s torment now,” wrote another Twitter user.
But not everyone agreed that Somad’s statement was ridiculous. “I don’t really get what people are fuming about. As far as I’m concerned, Somad only said what he believes in. Don’t agree with him? Go get your Starbucks and stop watching his videos. Make it easy for yourself. Won’t tell you again,” wrote one user.
