Justin Bieber Sketch Causes Controversy When Beliebers Convert to Islam
Justin Bieber's Norwegian fans may have upset some by fictitiously converting to Islam to win the singer's concert tickets.
Bieber was recently the subject of an episode of Anne- Kat, the Norwegian comedy show that appears Norwegian TV channel TV Norge (TV Norway). In the episode five girls in Oslo, Norway were willing to convert to Islam in order to get tickets to the 19-year-old Canadian crooner's concert.
In the episode, the participants were willing to remove their makeup, wear a hijab and read what the show deemed as an Islamic creed, according to Huffington Post U.K. reports. Along with having to complete the tasks, the Bieber fans also had to recite an alleged Arabic phrase about Bieber.
"Justin Bieber being unclean and probably gay," the girls said about the singer.
Anne-Kat Haerland, the host of the Anne-Kat comedy show, explained the idea behind the skit before the episode began.
"We wanted to find out how far Norwegian beliebers are willing to go for tickets to one of the concerts," the host told her audience.
However, everybody was not amused by the parody. Bishop Halvor Nordhaug from the Norwegian Lutheran Church thought the episode showcased a belief that the 19-year-old singer was more important than people's religious faith.
"This is an example of an idea where irony and lack of respect turns into something tragic," Nordhaug told Norwegian newspaper Dagen. "I believe this [the contest] is a foolish statement and it shows a lack of respect for what faith means."
Still, the TV Norge network executives defended the episode which aired after Bieber toured in Norway recently.
"Anne-Kat and her crew have the freedom to create a funny TV show," Svein Tore Bergestuen, TV Norge's head of communication said in a Dagen report. "It is not up to us to question their judgement about what is funny and what is not."
Jens Brun-Pedersen, the spokesperson for The Humanist Association in Norway, said he believes religions like Islam and Christianity should be topics addressed in comedy.
"Generally, I want to say that humor ought to challenge not only Islam, but also Christianity, Humanism, politics and economy. In my perspective, it is one of the comedian's tasks to challenge people in power," Brun-Pedersen said in the Dagen report. "We may also discuss whether or not something is tasteless, but I don't want to get into that as I have not seen this particular episode."
