​#Selfie4Siauw: Indonesian netizens retaliate after Muslim cleric Felix Siauw deems selfies a sin

Felix Siauw has come under fire for his anti selfie comments. Photo: Twitter/@felixsiauw
Felix Siauw has come under fire for his anti selfie comments. Photo: Twitter/@felixsiauw

Young and celebrated Muslim cleric Felix Siauw just offended the majority of selfie-loving Indonesians. Siauw, in a series of tweets he posted yesterday, wrote that taking a selfie is considered a sin in Islam.

We were puzzled as to how the harmless act of taking a selfie could be sinful, but Siauw explained it quite succinctly:

If we take a selfie, sift through and choose our best pose, and then we’re awed and impressed by our selves – worryingly, that’s called PRIDE

If we take a selfie and upload it on social media, desperately hoping for view, likes, comments or whatever – we’ve fallen into the OSTENTATIOUS trap

If we take a selfie and we feel cooler and better than others – we’ve fallen into the worst sin of all, ARROGANCE

These days many Muslim women take selfies without shame. There are usually nine frames in one photo with facial poses that are just – My Goodness – where’s the purity in women?
In a case of fighting fire with fire, netizens who disagreed with Felix Siauw’s logic fought back by posting their own selfies and memes with the hashtag #Selfie4Siauw. Needless to say, this became a trending topic in Jakarta.

Some even pointed out the cleric’s hypocrisy, as it appeared Felix Siauw judged a selfie contest just this month:

But Felix Siauw quickly clarified that he did not, in fact, judge a selfie contest. He said he gave a lecture to promote another form of selfie, namely self-introspection.

Do you think Felix Siauw is right in saying taking a selfie is a sin in Islam? Or do you need more convincing to finally throw out that tongsis/selfie stick?


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