PETALING JAYA, June 5 — Chinese singer and actor Lu Han has ignited controversy after he was spotted in public wearing a denim vest with the Arabic text spelling out the syahadah, the Islamic declaration of faith, printed on it.
Photos of the former Exo member in the offending outfit made the rounds online on June 2 and angered his Muslim fans, sparking accusations that he and his stylist had appropriated the sacred text for fashion purposes without being aware of its significance.
“That isn’t just some Arabic writing, it’s the shahada and you, a non-Muslim, don’t understand how offensive it is to wear that as an accessory,” wrote one Twitter user.
“I’m so disappointed and upset that Lu Han wore the shahada as an accessory. My religion is NOT an aesthetic,” said another.
I am so disappointed & upset that luhan wore the shahada as an accessory, my religion is NOT an aesthetic. I’m not hating on luhan, I just want his stylist and the fashion designer and luhan to educate themselves before making/wearing clothes using religious words as an aesthetic pic.twitter.com/73A0WvhIyp
— yOuR dOg SpEAkS cHiNeSE??? ⁷ ⟭⟬ 𖧵 //AGUSTD 2!!!❤ (@UgotNoJams_RM) June 1, 2020
The syahadah, or shahada is a profession of belief in Allah and Prophet Muhammad as his messenger and is one of the five pillars of Islam.
To add insult to the injury, Twitter users said it was ironic that Lu Han was openly wearing the sacred text during an event in China where Uighur Muslims have reportedly faced decades of religious persecution.
“There is a Muslim genocide occurring in China but Lu Han here wants to make our religion (into) fashion.
“This is textbook cultural appropriation to an extreme,” read a tweet which has garnered more than 6,500 likes so far.
How tf y'all are expecting muslims to be silent on this matter. When this man disrespected our belief??? How dare he???? We want apology.. luhan should apologise..
— ᴴᵃʳʳʸ ᴾᵒᵗᵗᵉʳ (@FondnessOfBTS) June 1, 2020
pic.twitter.com/9k3Aq7MGO1
Many of Lu Han’s fans have written to him and his label Luhan Studio to demand an apology over the matter.
Regarding Luhan's issue, Lufans have sent email to Luhan Studio to take action about this issue. We hope they can do it as soon as possible. Thank you.
— hap 🦌 π-volume 3 (@gaarangasem) June 2, 2020
So please don't bring Luhan again into your kpop fandom wars if you're not LuFans. Don't make it worse.
There has been no response from Lu Han or his management as of June 5.