A Singapore film with gay elements in a Malay-Muslim context has come under fire, showing how taboo the topic is among Muslim communities even as the LGBTQ movement gains traction in the region.
Online users have questioned how Salam Gembira was allowed to be screened, labelling it haram, or forbidden in Arabic, and even “sodomite influenced”.
Salam Gembira, or happy greetings in Malay, is a comedy that revolves around Moe, a Malay-Muslim Singaporean living in Rotterdam with his Dutch girlfriend when his parents make a surprise visit. His girlfriend switches places with her gay brother to hide that the couple lives together, but Moe’s parents then suspect their son is gay. The story is narrated by a gay character, who is portrayed as a Muslim in the film.
Singapore’s censorship board has passed the film uncut with an R21 rating due to its mature theme and some homosexual content.
Salam Gembira is screening at Filmgarde Cineplex at Leisure Park Kallang and has had its run extended to July 31 after its premiere on June 30.
Speaking to This Week in Asia, the film’s co-producer and writer, Remi M. Sali, said: “Whenever you talk about being gay and a Muslim, it’s a big no-no. There’s no room for discussion.”
Remi M. Sali, co-producer and writer of the Singapore film Salam Gembira. Photo: Studio59 Concepts
He noted that the creators tried to make the film more palatable for conservative Singaporeans, including by minimising the physical contact between the gay characters and setting the story abroad.
“We thought that it was important to open the discussion after the repeal. It’s about showing how a Malay-Muslim family can handle such a situation, but the problem is that people tend to have tunnel vision,” added Remi, referring to the repeal of the law criminalising gay sex in Singapore on January 3 last year.
The film’s creators also sought advice from a religious teacher to depict the Islamic practices and beliefs on screen accurately and sensitively, he said.
Co-producer Ho Pak Kin said they did not expect the backlash to be so intense. “There’s no dialogue because it’s just labelled as ‘haram’; it’s like if you’re gay you can’t be Muslim and if you’re Muslim you can’t be gay, end of discussion.”
In a TikTok post of a Reddit thread on the film’s release, which has more than 3,900 likes and 1,800 shares as of Friday, one online user said: “Next up, can eat pig products” while another wrote: “Singapore has fallen”.
Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib, founding director of Dialogue Centre, said the taboo surrounding LGBTQ issues in Muslim societies stemmed from feelings of fear, shame and disgust, which were natural and understandable.
Ho Pak Kin, co-producer of the Singapore film Salam Gembira. Photo: Studio59 Concepts
“Taboos take shape because of lack of encounters, prevalence of underlying assumptions, and presence of deep-seated prejudices. They are symptoms of a poor understanding of issues that are complex and nuanced,” said Imran, a founding board member of the Centre for Interfaith Understanding.
The negative responses to Salam Gembira were largely due to the framing of the movie’s content and intent by some online users as promoting the LGBTQ agenda, Imran said. The issues of cohabitation and premarital sex involving the main character, which were also considered sins in Islam, went largely unnoticed, he added.
While there would never be a common position regarding LGBTQ issues, Imran suggested having more discussions to foster deeper understanding and empathy among various parties.
“Developing this civic capability is what the Malay-Muslim community should be nudged towards. It begins with dialogue, which the movie had intended but unfortunately grossly misconstrued by certain segments of the community,” Imran said.
In response to queries from This Week in Asia, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said that it was not in any position to comment on a film’s classification or reception from viewers.
It noted that LGBTQ issues were sensitive issues for many faith communities and said: “While it is not frequently and openly discussed, any discussions on LGBT topics within the Muslim community are approached with care and consideration for the diverse viewpoints and sensitivities of individuals.”
The backlash generated by the film has refocused attention on the difficulties faced by the entertainment industry to broach the topic of homosexuality in Muslim societies, despite more acceptance of LGBTQ rights in the region in recent times.
Last month, Thailand passed a bill to recognise same-sex marriage, which will make it the first Southeast Asian nation to do so.
For conservative Malay-Muslim societies, it was not easy for them to discuss LGBTQ issues as many have not developed the civic frameworks and vocabularies to deal with the increasingly visible LGBTQ community, Imran said.
“This is compounded with the rise of religious identity politics where religious policing has become more prevalent, hence plunging the issue into a sort of ‘culture war’ between what is Islamic and un-Islamic in a binary form.”
In Indonesia, lawmakers are mulling changes to the broadcast law that would ban LGBTQ content, despite the country previously permitting such films.
Thousands of anti-LGBTQ demonstrators marching in Bogor, outside the capital Jakarta. Photo: AFP
NBC News reported in May that prominent Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar had described the proposal as “dangerous” and “impossible” to implement.
“The ban on such content not only impedes the creativity of the creative industry, and freedom of the press but also undermines people’s capacity to filter what they watch,” he said.
In Malaysia, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in March reiterated that films with content promoting LGBTQ lifestyle would not be approved for screening in Malaysia, where homosexuality remained illegal.
In 2022, Thor: Love and Thunder and Pixar animated film Lightyear, both distributed by Disney, were banned from Malaysian theatres due to LGBTQ elements that the studio chose not to cut.
However, LGBTQ elements are allowed in TV or film content, provided they are portrayed as cautionary tales.
One such production approved by Malaysian authorities was TV3’s 2022 drama Suamiku Lelaki Pendosa, centred around a gay main character whose life is derailed when a video of him having sex with another man is leaked online. The character loses his job and is ostracised by everyone except his wife, prompting him to commit to her and leave his gay partner.
