Who would’ve thought a seemingly simple Instagram story could lead to a trend and land one of the hottest international stars in hot waters? Kim Nam Joon, aka RM, leader of the famous K-pop boy band BTS, has been criticized by netizens for seemingly promoting and supporting Islamophobia.
The saga began when RM took to Instagram to share a snap from his Spotify playlist revealing that he is a Frank Ocean fan. Though nothing seems wrong on the surface, it is Ocean’s song Bad Religion that put RM on the radar.
Bad Religion was released in 2012 as part of Frank Ocean’s debut studio album titled Channel Orange. The lyrics that make this song offensive to Muslims are the ones that mention an Arabic phrase that Muslims use in praise or remembrance of God. Ocean utters the phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ twice in the song, in a manner that many Muslims would consider inappropriate. The verses read, “He said ‘Allahu Akbar’; I told him ‘Don’t curse me’”.
The song’s offensive and Islamophobic lyrics irked RM’s Muslim fandom who then demanded him to apologize for hurting their sentiments.
Fans of the K-pop idol took to Twitter making the hashtag ‘RM, apologize to Muslims’ trending.
“The fact that people who say “We respect all differences” listen to Islamophobic songs in their private lives is proof of how hypocritical idols are. #RMapologizetoMuslims
— Lamia ෆ (@MarksLamia) August 16, 2023
RM APOLOGIZE TO MUSLIMS! He’s literally a part of UNICEF he’s their ambassador #RMAPOLOGIZETOMUSLIMS pic.twitter.com/uWzLO3N9Qy
— May ???? (@9an1da) August 16, 2023
RM of @bts_bighit you should apologize to muslims, u don’t respect us as a Muslim, how can you do that while ARMY always support and respect you, but you don’t !!!, so mad and disappointed. #RMapologizetoMuslims
— chococookie (@chocooooo19) August 17, 2023
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