Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong spammed on Facebook by banned Indonesian cleric’s fans
- Abdul Somad, a preacher with 9 million social media followers, was denied entry into Singapore and said he was put in a ‘1 by 2 metre room, like an immigration jail’
- Indonesia’s anti-terror chief said he ‘appreciated’ the city state’s decision, and praised its ‘pre-emptive’ action to deter radical views from taking root in the country
Singapore’s decision this week to deny entry to a popular Indonesian Muslim cleric on account of his “extremist and segregationist” teachings has triggered an uproar, with the city state’s leaders facing a barrage of online spam and Jakarta requesting a formal explanation over the matter.
In Indonesia, some quarters described Singapore’s decision on Monday to bar entry to Abdul Somad as “Islamophobic”. But officials and interfaith activists in Singapore said it was not the 45-year-old’s religion, but rather his highly-charged rhetoric that was out of place in the multiracial nation.
The city state – known for its no-nonsense style of maintaining social peace – has previously banned the noted American pastor Lou Engle for negative remarks about Islam.
Somad was denied entry into Singapore when he and six travel companions arrived on Monday at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal from the Indonesian resort island of Batam, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said.
Somad later wrote on his widely followed Instagram page that he was placed in a “1 by 2 metre room, like an immigration jail” for two hours before he was deported.
“Somad has been known to preach extremist and segregationist teachings, which are unacceptable in Singapore’s multiracial and multi-religious society,” the ministry said in its statement on Tuesday.