Malaysia Nabs 80 Lovers in Raids ... on Hotel Rooms

'Allah' tattoo offends Muslim officials

(NEWSER) - Erykah Badu's Malaysia concert has been canceled, and it's all thanks to the singer's tattoo. A newspaper photo revealed that Badu has the Arabic word for "Allah" inked on her upper body; officials called it "an insult to Islam" and canceled tomorrow's planned performance in Kuala Lumpur. The newspaper that ran the photo has since apologized, and the BBC notes that the tattoo may not be permanent. Concert organizers are hoping officials will change their minds. (Badu also angered Dallas once, by running around naked at JFK's assassination site .) More»

Court refuses to grant 'teapot cultist' permission to change religion

(NEWSER) - Kamariah Ali may consider herself a member of the Sky Kingdom sect—known as the "teapot cult"—but she is a Muslim under the law, a Malaysian civil court has decided. The court rejected the 60-year-old woman's request to leave Islam to avoid being jailed for apostasy, the BBC reports. Judges decided that the case needs to be heard by an Islamic court, which is extremely unlikely to grant her request to officially quit the religion she no longer follows. More»

Muslims told not to celebrate 'immoral' Valentine's Day

(NEWSER) - Happy Valentine's Day—not! That's the unlovely message Malaysian leaders are issuing to Muslims who may fall into the holiday "trap" and indulge in "immoral behavior," they warn. "Avoid the Trap" brochures urging students to avoid marking Valentine's Day have been distributed at universities, and several states are planning hotel checks to nip any premarital sex in the bud. "In reality, as well as historically, the celebration of Valentine's Day is synonymous with vice activities," warned the head of the government-run Department of Islamic Development. Muslims make up two-thirds of the nation's populations, the BBC reports. Others are free to celebrate the day unmolested by government ministers. More»

Leading scholar slams country's 'Talibanization'

(NEWSER) - Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism are accepted in Muslim-majority Malaysia, but the government has stepped up efforts to quash non-Sunni strains of Islam. More than 200 Shia Muslims have been arrested in a swoop on outlawed Islamic sects, and they are likely to be charged with "following the teachings of a deviationist movement," which carries a penalty of up to two years in jail, AP reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A Malaysian model sentenced to caning for drinking beer wants her punishment carried out in public, CNN reports. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, will be the first woman to be flogged for alcohol consumption in the Muslim-majority nation. "Let's be transparent" about the punishment, Kartika has insisted. Her father said a public caning will "challenge" the punishment. "They say they are gentlemen who want to uphold values. Then the public should judge how gentlemanly it is," he said. More»