Don't Make Fun of Religion, Lots of Hypersensitive Zealots

Be cool bros!

Sure, there are assholes who are rude and bigoted, and have white bedsheets hood and gown in their drawers. However, there are also thin-skinned monotheists who get all worked up. There is something about religion, especially monotheistic ones, being uptight that their religion being insulted. I'm not talking about the usual bearded AK-47 totting Taliban or Afghan running amok after stacks of the Quran were burnt by the US unbelievers-invaders in Afghanistan, I'm talking about uptight local Christians. Ask former NMP Siew Kum Hong and and he has a rough idea of being hounded by Christians when he recently uploaded something in his Facebook that got some hypersensitive Christians all constipated. He had to apologise. In the latest thin-skinned incident, the sexist FHM had to pull off its magazines from the shelves as Christians were supposedly mocked in an article. The FHM editor also had to apologise.

What exactly was the insult I really don't know, but I sure want to know now in both the Siew Kum Hong and FHM cases. Controversy fires up publicity. Maybe it was a cartoon of Jesus or Moses, or a film re-review of The Last Temptation of Christ. What it did was give FHM publicity and that article an underground status. People who have a relevant copy might scan the article and upload it in the Internet soon. Just wait for it to appear in a Facebook Wall or in your email soon for you to laugh, get upset or just feel indifferent.

The Christians if they wanted to be taken seriously have to get lawyered up and sue FHM. Or if they want to get really taken seriously, have to be more vocal like how Muslims were upset about Prophet Mohammad cartoons. I seriously don't think they should do that though.

FHM pulled off shelves, editor apologises

04:46 AM Mar 03, 2012SINGAPORE - The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) has sharply criticised two articles published in the latest edition of FHM Singapore, describing them as "highly objectionable and deplorable". The criticism prompted an immediate apology from the senior editor of the men's magazine and the removal of the publication from newsstands islandwide.

In a statement yesterday, the council, which represents more than 150 churches across denominations, said the articles "make fun of the Lord Jesus Christ". The statement, signed by NCCS president Bishop Dr Robert Solomon and its three vice-presidents, added: "These articles appear during the holy season of Lent when Christians remember the sufferings and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and they cause serious offence and hurt the sensitivities of the Christian community."

The NCCS also urged the authorities to "look into the matter and ensure the material in question is removed", adding that "such offensive articles threaten the religious harmony that we work so hard to build and maintain".

Noting that it has become "fashionable" to depict religions in the media in ways that are offensive to religious communities, the council urged that "society must be on guard against such trends". FHM Singapore is a title produced by MediaCorp Publishing. The articles in question were entitled "Which of These Celebs Might Secretly be Jesus?" and "Jesus 2.0: What can we expect?".

When contacted, FHM Singapore senior editor David Fuhrmann-Lim said: "We would like to apologise for any offence caused ... We are always sensitive to people's religions and beliefs, and while the article was written with a tongue-in-cheek humour, we do realise now it was not done in the best taste or judgment. We will certainly be more mindful of such sensitive issues in the future."

"Furthermore, we will immediately remove all copies on sale in the newsstands; this process should be completed in the next two days," he added.

When contacted, a spokesperson for the industry regulator Media Development Authority said: "We are investigating this complaint for a possible breach of our content guidelines for publications."