An openly lesbian Lebanese stand-up comic and LGBTQIA+ rights activist is facing criminal charges from Lebanon’s Islamic religious authorities on May 9th after her sketch about Muslim Friday prayers went viral and sparked controversy online.
Shaden Fakih has amassed a large online following for her jabs at Lebanon’s religious authorities and the sectarian factions that have long dominated the country’s political scene. But despite Lebanon’s reputation as one of the most open and tolerant societies in the Arab and Muslim world, her crude jokes have occasionally angered many Lebanese.
State-run National News Agency reported that Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Shiite Council lodged a complaint against Fakih for “the crimes of blasphemy, insulting religious rituals and stirring sectarian… strife.”
Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian, Lebanon’s Grand Mufti, ordered Dar al-Fatwa, the country’s top Sunni religious authority, on May 9th to file a complaint against Fakih for “insult and blasphemy against the divine glory and Prophet Muhammad.”
In solidarity with #Lebanese comedian Shaden and the #FreedomOfSpeech in #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/O9DerQ38Sa
— Lebanese Bonkers (@BonkersLebanese) May 7, 2021
The NNA also said Dar al-Fatwa accused Fakih of “inciting religious and sectarian strife” and “undermining national unity,” A judicial source told Agence France-Presse that the Lebanese judiciary still hasn’t looked into the complaints against the comedian because the relevant judge is still abroad.
Human rights activists and organizations in Lebanon expressed outrage over threats of legal action against Fakih for simply expressing her opinions.
“The idea that someone could be arrested… harassed and subjected to death threats just for expressing views that may contradict certain societal norms… is unacceptable,” Jad Shahrour of Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom in Beirut said.
Lebanese comedian Shaden Fakih has been summoned to the Military Tribunal. She is charged with damaging the reputation of the ISF and will appear on 24/06/2022. pic.twitter.com/yxfluXuhG6
— Beirut Today (@bey_today) November 24, 2021
This is not the first time Fakih got on the wrong side of the law for her sketches and comedic acts. In 2021, the openly lesbian stand-up comic was summoned by a military court for “insulting” Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces and “harming” their reputation.
Other comedians have also been threatened with prosecution over their jokes. Lebanese Nour Hajjar has been arrested twice for making jokes about Lebanon’s military and his parents’ religious observance.
