Nador - Morocco, On Feb 20, Katy Perry released “Dark Horse,” which is the first promotional pop single from her studio album “Prism”. As a matter of fact, “Dark Horse” combines genres of pop and trap music.
Nador – Morocco, On Feb 20, Katy Perry released “Dark Horse,” which is the first promotional pop single from her studio album “Prism”. As a matter of fact, “Dark Horse” combines genres of pop and trap music.
This music video caused controversy among the majority of Muslims who expressed their disapproval of it, by launching a petition on Change.org so as to remove it from YouTube.
This music video opens with Perry’s character Katy Patra floating on a long barge during sunset, with the shadows of Pyramids and palm trees visible in the background. The video shifts to a new scene where Patra is shown sitting back in a “sphinx-like throne”. In an attempt to win her heart, Pharaohs brings her a large diamond. After retrieving this suitor’s gift, she hits with lightening the man wearing a pendant that displays the Arabic word for Allah, turning him into sand.
Burning the man who wears the necklace with the word “Allah” on it, has exposed Katy to a slew of angry responses from Muslims considering her an anti-Islam propagandist. They made it clear that the video does really harm them on a spiritual level. I have read some comments on social media that have taken extreme stance suggesting to bomb the singer’s house.
Obviously, the choice of Egyptian imagery and the disintegration of the man with the pendant are based on commercial purposes. That is to say, Katy and the producer of the video want to catch the attention of large number of viewers and music critics. I think that Muslims’ reactions and efforts to boycott and remove the video from YouTube have brought more attention to an unpleasant star than she actually deserves.
Muslim petitioners could have expressed their objection against the video without calling for its censorship. Because, this reinforces the western stereotypical images held about Muslims as being hysterical, hyper-sensitive and ignorant of the concepts of freedom of expression.
I believe that advocating the censorship of the video and bombing Katy’s house are not the appropriate way of defending Islam. One of the petitioners suggested that Muslims must take their revenge by producing a music video and have a man with a pendant with the word Jesus on it being burnt.
We are not going to flip the switch because Islam is a religion of tolerance that respects all prophets and accepts other religions. Hence, the best way to defend Islam is to perform it and to act according to its principles and believes. No one has the agency to Protect Islam for it is strong enough to protect itself.
I don’t defend Katy Perry, nor do I criticize Muslims’ rejection of the music video, but I think that petitioners’ call for censorship and sensitivity are not advantageous to Muslims. This will just increase Katy’s popularity, and feed the orientalist discourse and the prejudiced cliché that describes Muslims as being primitive, hysterical, and reactionary.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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