Moroccan authorities have arrested activist Ibdisam Lahgar after she posted a photo with an offensive reference to Allah. In the photo that Lahgar posted on 'X', the T-shirt she was wearing read "Allah is a lesbian."
The Public Prosecutor's Office in Rabat announced that the activist was taken into custody by police on Sunday, while she stated that she had received threats, including being stoned.
Lahgar accompanied her post with the comment "In Morocco, I walk around wearing T-shirts that carry messages against religions, Islam, etc. You tire us out with your hypocrisy, with your accusations. Yes, Islam, like any religious ideology, is FASCIST".
Lahgar has organized a series of demonstrations in Morocco for women's rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and against male violence, while she founded the Mouvement alternatif pour les lirtés individuelles (MALI), which fights, among other things, for abortion rights and same-sex marriage.
According to her Facebook post, after July 31, when she published the controversial photo, she became a victim of "cyberbullying, thousands of rape and death threats, and calls for lynching and stoning".
"Our country is in danger. This woman named Ibtissem Lachgar is currently free. She was born in Rabat and lives in Morocco. She is a feminist activist, a supporter of the secular state and an open Islamophobe. Her freedom is an insult to all Moroccans. She alone is an insult to all the martyrs, our ancestors who fought proudly in the path of Allah to make this country what it is today. The authorities have not yet arrested her and this is unacceptable. We must not let such an act go unpunished. There is nothing more sacred to Moroccans than Allah, than Islamism. This woman's place is behind bars," reads one of the threatening messages sent to her.
A law passed in 2002 states that expressions deemed critical of "Islam, the institution of the monarchy or territorial integrity" are not permitted and can be punishable by imprisonment in Morocco.
As stated in the relevant provision, “anyone who incites actions aimed at shaking the faith of a Muslim or converting him to another religion” is punished with imprisonment from three to six months and a fine of 115 to 575 MAD (up to 55 euros).
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