PETALING JAYA, July 31 – With the storm over a sex blogger duo’s Ramadan message yet to subside, a “Hari Raya” video featuring dogs now making its round online is again raising the hackles of some Muslim viewers.
The 105-second video posted on YouTube by user acaiseven fiska titled “video menghina Islam. 1 hari di hari raya (video insulting Islam. 1 day in Hari Raya)” starts off with an individual, believed to be Muslim, walking three dogs as the “Takbir Raya” plays in the background.
The “Takbir Raya” is traditionally recited on Eid-Mubarak morning, the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, as a call to all Muslims to perform their prayers.
The scene then shifts to the dogs' owner, named online as Chetz Yusoff, cleaning the animals' paws, before washing her own feet and finally wiping her face and that of a dog using a towel.
With the accompanying call to prayer, the scene appears to reference the wudhu, or ablution performed by Muslims before prayers.
Muslims traditionally consider dogs to be ritually unclean, but some believe that any contact with the animal should be avoided.
The clip then ends with the message for people to celebrate Hari Raya together regardless of species, colour, and place of origin.
Some internet users have since taken offence at the video, construing it to be an insult to Muslims.
YouTube user akusahe akumon commented: “Hentikanlah buat video mcm ni..yg memperlekehkan agama...di mana sensitiviti agama kamu?...makin menjadikan permusuhan dlm masyarakat majmuk...insaflah.” (Stop making videos like these... that belittles religion... where is your religious sensitivity... fuelling the rivalries within society... please repent.)
Another user, azroy daniell, wrote: “wtf is this...don’t he have respect for other religions? this is getting way too much!!”
However, not all YouTube users see the insult at the centre of the growing furore.
”Menghina macam mana? Kalau anjing dlm video tu diganti dengan kucing kamu marah tak? Senang cerita kamu melihat anjing tu hina sedangkan Islam tak ajar macam tu, (How is this insulting? If the dogs in the video are replaced with cats, will you get mad? To sum it up, you view dog as insulting whereas Islam does not teach that),” a user with the screen name illmaners asked.
And despite the brewing storm, the video itself is not new and was posted in 2010, according to website mynewshub.com, and was only recently unearthed by acaiseven fiska. The original is also no longer available online.
But it also comes on the heels of the case of sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee who stirred up a hornet’s nest when they posted a mock “Selamat Berbuka Puasa” (breaking of fast) greeting on their Facebook page that showed them eating “bak kut teh”, and describing the soupy pork dish as “wangi, enak, menyelerakan” (fragrant, delicious, appetising).
The picture also included a “Halal” logo, although the consumption of pork is forbidden to Muslims.
They were later charged under the Penal Code, Film and Censorship Act and Sedition Act.
The couple had first courted controversy over the videos and photographs of their sexual exploits that had been posted on a now-defunct blog.
The Malaysian Communications And Multimedia Commission (MCMC) yesterday said it is now probing the new video.
And despite the brewing storm, the video itself is not new and was posted in 2010, according to website Mynewshub.com, and was only recently unearthed by acaiseven fiska. The original is also no longer available online.
