Man Shaved Bald by Crowd After Openly Insulting the Quran

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Thousands of Muslims gathered outside a cafe in Bangkok, demanding an apology from a man who mocked and insulted the Quran during a live social media broadcast on Sunday (May 10).

During the live broadcast, the man, who is reportedly part of the LGBTQ+ community, was warned by another man that his words would lead him to hell. Instead of stopping, he ignored the warning and replied, “I will go to hell too, I’m sure,” as quoted by the Bangkok Post.

This action sparked strong reactions from the Muslim community and religious groups in Thailand. They considered it an act of religious defamation and insult.

As a result of the live broadcast, thousands of Muslims gathered on Soi Ramkhamhaeng 53, demanding that the man admit his mistake and issue a public apology. They argued that if religious defamation is left unchecked, it will be normalized by others and could potentially trigger tensions within a multicultural society.

Surrounded by the crowd, the man in the viral video admitted his mistake and even slapped himself in the face to show his remorse.

Narupol, a Muslim living in Bangkok, said that the matter would only be considered resolved if the man met three demands: shaving his head, reciting the Shahada as a statement of conversion to Islam, and issuing an apology to Muslims on his personal Facebook account.

The man agreed to have his head shaved. While his head was being shaved, several people in the crowd tried to attack him, causing a commotion that required the intervention of local police.

After the video of the shaving was shared on social media, some people considered it a form of oppression because the crowd used physical violence under the guise of religion.