A Moroccan court on Wednesday, September 3rd, sentenced feminist and LGBT rights activist Ibtissame Lachgar to two and a half years in prison, accusing her of “attacking the Islamic religion” after she posted a photo on social media wearing a T-shirt with a message deemed “offensive to God.”
The Rabat Court of First Instance also ordered Lachgar to pay a fine of nearly 50,000 dirhams (about €4,700).
The controversy began when Lachgar posted a photo at the end of July wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Allah is a lesbian.” Alongside the photo, she criticized Islam as “fascist, phallocratic, and misogynistic,” like “any religious ideology.” The post immediately triggered a backlash, with widespread calls for punishment on social media. Some users demanded her arrest, while others even called for her to be stoned, writing comments such as she “has decided to go to jail.”
The public prosecutor’s office in Rabat accused her of spreading “insulting statements against God” and insulting Islam, opening an investigation that led to her arrest on August 11th. She was transferred to a prison near Rabat, where she remains in solitary confinement, according to her lawyer.
Under Moroccan law, insulting religion can result in imprisonment of six months to two years and fines of up to 200,000 dirhams (€20,000). If the insult is made publicly, including on social media, the penalty rises to as much as five years in prison. After arrest, pre-trial detention typically lasts up to 48 hours before a court decides on prosecution.
Her legal team had requested her release on conditional grounds due to health concerns, but the court rejected the appeal in late August. Her lawyer, Naima al Kalaf, said Lachgar suffers from cancer and urgently requires surgery on her left hand to prevent amputation.
Lachgar, a well-known figure for her feminist and LGBTI activism and founder of the Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties (MALI), has denounced the harassment campaign against her. She reported receiving “thousands of sexist insults, rape and death threats” since her post went online and before her detention by security forces.
The case highlights an important contradiction of the progressive liberal agenda. Islam does not tolerate LGBT persons, with most Muslim countries having draconian laws in place to ‘punish’ those with a non-heterosexual gender identity as well as those ‘offending’ Allah. Yet, many leftist groups endorsing the LGBT agenda are resolutely pro-Palestine, condemning Israel, apparently not realizing LGBT individuals would not last long in places like Gaza.
