On Monday, one of Indonesia’s most divisive Muslim preachers, Abdul Somad, tried to enter Singapore with family and associates. Being such a controversial figure in his home country, Somad was refused entry into the country and then forced to return back to whence he came.
No, not Hell though I reckon Indonesia does come pretty close.
Somad, true to his name, got so mad about it that he decided to hop on his social media soapbox to tell of the incident.
Salty as ever, Somad made multiple unsubstantiated claims, including one hyperbole filled statement that alleged that Singapore‘s so tiny that if Indonesians were to pee in our direction we would sink.
As much as I’d love to see that (we’d just use the extra seawater for desalinization!), it’s even funnier to see Somad being so irate about being humiliated in such a fashion.
I’d have thought he’d have gotten used to being turned back at a country’s borders by now, as this isn’t the first time the guy had been refused entry into a nation.
Somad’s rejection by the MHA has gotten the ministry a ton of support from Singapore’s Netizens…
Most of our local citizens love the fact that Singapore’s rejected access to an asshat who denigrates other religions just because they’re not worshipping the same God. Haven’t we learned anything over the Crusades and the countless ‘holy’ wars since then?
MHA’s decision to bar entry for Somad and his cadre is even more favourable when you consider that quite a few Indonesians are speaking up in support of the move.
You know that a person is bad news when their own compatriots are denouncing him.
It’s not a single voice here and there.
There are a lot of Indonesians who say that Somad is bad news and that he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near Singapore, despite his allegedly coming here only for recreation. Who’s to say he won’t meet up with people here to sermonize or create unrest?
One particularly humourous Indonesian netizen even bemoans Singapore’s decision to return him to Indonesia.
Seems like Somad isn’t getting love anywhere. Not with his own country’s Muslims and definitely not in Singapore.
Wait…I take that back, some in Singapore do love him.
As a Muslim, it’s really sad to see that an extremist like Somad has so much clout in the local community.
There’s even one (by a Muslim no less) who claims that MHA is against Islam.
Out of all the posts I read regarding Somad’s rejection, I’ve only found a handful of posts from Muslims who support the MHA.
The rest of them sound like brainwashed zombies that regurgitate the same line of thinking; Somad hasn’t done anything wrong, what he preaches about on Youtube isn’t technically wrong…that sort of drivel.
I’m not generalizing either.
I’ve actually looked into local Muslim Facebook groups to gauge the sentiment and the overwhelming majority actually think that Somad should be allowed entry and that he isn’t an extremist.
Sigh…it’s times like this that makes you wonder whether Singaporeans are truly idiots.
It’s also truly scary that the majority of Muslim Netizens seem to think that Somad’s sermons aren’t wrong!
Some Muslims thankfully, see through the thinly veiled hate in Somad’s sermon.
They contend that Somad’s denial of entry into Singapore is good, and that we don’t need a preacher of his ill repute here.
In fact, the Muslim community here has preachers that are leagues better than Somad, and who preaches a more positive message of peace and tolerance instead of the vile nonsense that Somad spreads.
Weirdly, out of the hundreds of comments that I’ve read online, there’s one that sticks out to me the most.
Not because it’s insightful.
It’s because it’s batshit insane and I truly wonder if the person who posted it was really serious about it.
See? I told you it was nuts…and not the good kind.