BREAKING NEWS

Malaysia bars Iranian singer for insulting Islam

FEBRUARY 16, 2011 08:28

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia— Muslim-majority Malaysia has barred an Iranian singer from performing a concert later this week because his work has insulted Islam, authorities said Wednesday.

Mohsen Namjoo was scheduled to sing Friday in Kuala Lumpur, but a government panel that monitors shows by foreign artists rejected the plan because an Iranian court had convicted the 34-year-old Namjoo in 2009 of "disrespecting religious sanctities" in a song that used verses from the Quran.

"It is not appropriate in terms of religion, culture and the country's cosmopolitan nature," Information Minister Rais Yatim said in a statement.

An official from the government agency that oversees foreign acts said Namjoo's record "clearly shows he insulted the image of Islam."

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