Islamists target John for promoting 'vice'
Gay as "vice" ... Malaysian protestors object to Elton John's homosexuality. Photo: AFP
MALAYSIA'S Islamic party was to take to the streets to protest against an Elton John concert on the ground that performances by gay stars might ''drag [Muslims] into vice''.
The protest was planned for Saturday, World AIDS Day, two days after the singer's concert in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, which protest organisers failed to have banned.
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party said it had submitted a memorandum to the government to bar John, pictured, performing but would take to the streets to register its disapproval instead.
''Whatever it takes, we will not let up on our dakwah [propaganda] work and will continually remind all Muslims, particularly youths, not to get involved in matters that can drag them into vice,'' the PAS youth chief, Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi, told The Malaysian Times.
John has been in a civil partnership with David Furnish since 2005. They have one son, born to a surrogate mother, who is reportedly pregnant with a second.
Homosexuality is punishable by caning and up to 20 years' jail in Malaysia. But the planned protest has been met largely with derision.
Similar protests against John's first performance in Malaysia last year went unheeded, with a sold-out crowd at the same venue. However, Lady Gaga's performance last year was cancelled after authorities said her single Born This Way promoted homosexuality.
The Malaysian government, headed by Najib Razak, has come under fire over gay rights. In September the government held seminars for parents and teachers on how to spot ''signs of homosexuality'' in children. Last week Mr Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, caused outrage when she seemed to blame the spread of HIV and Aids on gay people.
Guardian News & Media