{"id":110182,"date":"2020-11-09T23:53:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T21:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/thefreethinker\/?p=110182"},"modified":"2020-11-10T11:56:03","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T09:56:03","slug":"borats-allah-ring-and-mankini-spark-muslim-anger-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thefreethinker\/2020\/11\/borats-allah-ring-and-mankini-spark-muslim-anger-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Borat’s Allah ring and mankini spark Muslim anger in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

WHENEVER Jewish comedian Sacha Baron Cohen releases a new\u00a0 comedy video or film outrage frequently follows, and posters for his latest \u2013 Borat II-New Filmed Mission<\/em><\/span><\/a> \u2013 is reportedly being branded by Muslims in Paris as \u2018blasphemous.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Images via Amazon Prime\/YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leaving aside the Cohen\u2019s near-nudity, the main bone of contention, according to numerous press reports, is Borat\u2019s ring: it\u2019s bears the Arabic symbol for Allah, Islam\u2019s version of The Almighty that Christian fundamentalists insist is a pagan moon God.<\/a><\/p>\n

Trouble, according to this Yahoo!<\/em><\/a> report, began shortly after posters for the movie \u2013\u00a0 the second most streamed release of 2020 on subscription platforms this year \u2013\u00a0 began appearing on buses.<\/p>\n

Yahoo!<\/em> says that in the face of mounting anger some Paris bus companies decided to remove the posters. The TICE network in the southern suburb of \u00c9vry confirmed they have scrapped the posters, though they cited \u201cinappropriate\u201d humour and denied it was due to religious controversy.<\/p>\n

But state-owned public transport operator RATP told The Times<\/em> it would:<\/p>\n

Under no circumstances take this campaign off our network.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

RATP also denied claims that the posters had led to attacks on buses in the city, stating that such vandalism was common over the Halloween period.<\/p>\n

The Sun<\/em>, citing French publication Le Parisien<\/em>, reported that the posters had been called \u201cprovocative\u201d and \u201clacking respect\u201d for Islam. Other French media used the term \u201cblasphemous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm<\/em> has caused controversy in a number of arenas since it was released on Amazon Prime Video last month.<\/p>\n

It was criticised by the Kazakh-American community as \u201cracist\u201d and a babysitter who featured in the film said she felt \u201cbetrayed\u201d by the way she was depicted.<\/p>\n

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The moment Giuliani learned that Biden would be America\u2019s next president. Image via YouTube\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A fortnight ago, Rudy Giuliani, above, Trump\u2019s personal lawyer, was angrily defending himself<\/a> after a clip from Borat 2<\/em>\u00a0 showed him apparently fiddling with his crotch. It happened as he lay on a bed in a hotel room where he had gone for a drink with a young woman, actor\u00a0Maria Bakalova, who was posing as a Kazakh television journalist.<\/p>\n

He explained later \u201cI was tucking in my shirt.\u201d He denied any wrongdoing and described the footage as a \u201ccomplete fabrication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he finds himself in another mortifying position: having to bring frivolous court actions in a hopeless bid to keep Drumpf in the White House for another four years.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Please report any typos\/errors to barry@freethinker.co.uk<\/span><\/h3>\n

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