Indonesian woman jailed for uttering Islamic prayer ‘Bismillah’ before trying pork in TikTok video

Lina Mukherjee

September 22, 2023

A district court in Indonesia’s South Sumatra has sentenced a woman TikToker to two years in prison for reciting an Islamic prayer before eating pork in a viral video.

Lina Lutfiawati, popularly known as Lina Mukherjee on social media channels, was tried on Tuesday in the Palembang district court on Sumatra island. Mukherjee identifies herself as a Muslim.

The court found Mukherjee guilty of “spreading information aimed at inciting hatred against religious individuals and specific groups.” She was also fined 250 million rupiah (US$16,200) failing which her jail term would be extended by three months.

She had shared a video on TikTok in March, in which she is seen sitting at a dining table and reciting the Islamic phrase “Bismillah” before consuming crispy pork skin. The video, which was shot in Bali, featured her tasting babi guling, a popular street food of rice and chunks of spit-roasted pork and crackling served with vegetables.

The video was deemed blasphemous against Islam by Islamic groups, including the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s top Muslim clerical body.

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