RM is currently being criticized for sharing what some consider an Islamic song. Even when ARMYs pointed out that it wasn't offensive or had negative connotations related to religion, toxic individuals continued to @ttack him.
Some people even pointed out that there are many top famous Kpop artists who have shared about this song and attended Frank Ocean's concert but none of them have been criticized like RM. It was only when RM shared this long-standing track that people falsely accused him.
Here is the situation that RM is facing and ARMY is trying to protect him with the truth:
On August 16, RM shared a clip from his Instagram story, a habit he's done many times. The shared song is a song from Frank Ocean's debut studio album, Channel Orange, titled "Bad Religion".
Frank Ocean is an αмєяι¢αn singer, songwriter, and rapper whose music is universally liked and well-received by listeners and critics alike. Even those that do not listen to his music are likely familiar with memes and other content about his not-so-frequent performance and release schedule.
Like many of his other songs, "Bad Religion" is about love, with this song depicting Frank sharing his experience of one-sided love with a taxi driver. When the song was released, several lines in the chorus attracted attention, sparking debate over their meaning.
Some people pointed out that, in the song, there are some lyrics like "And you say ‘Allahu Akbar’/ I told him, ‘Don’t ċüŕṩệ me’/ ‘Bo Bo, you need prayer’/ I guess it couldn’t ȟɥȑț me/ If it brings me to my knees, it’s a bad religion". Allahu Akbar is an Arabic phrase often used in Islam, meaning “God is greatest,” Frank Ocean’s response of “Don’t ċüŕṩệ me” has been interpreted in multiple ways. A common one is that Ocean already suffers from the “religion” of love and doesn’t wish to have another.
The line “If it brings me to my knees, it’s a bad religion” also stirred mixed feelings, as many religions like Islam involve praying on the knees. This is also meant to have a double meaning, as the “bad religion” is clarified in the song’s outro. The full lyrics include: "It’s a, it’s a bad religion/ To be in love with someone/ Who could never love you/ Oh, oh, oh, only bad, only bad religion/ Could have me feeling the way I do".
Immediately after RM shared the song, some Muslim fans deemed the lyrics problematic, or more specifically offensive to their religion. This led RM to face countless criticisms and accusations related to religion. Some even expressed disappointment that RM, who was a UNICEF ambαѕѕador and spoke at the United Nations, shared such a song.
But in fact, ARMYs pointed out that RM was not at fault for sharing this song. Firstly, with the perspective of a talented artist and producer, RM shares it when he feels it is a good and meaningful work of art. The song itself is not negative or offensive to religion as many people have tried to "distort" its meaning.
Contrary to the accusations of the song and criticism of RM, ARMYs pointed out that the song has a different meaning and doesn't offend religion like many people try to force it into negative meaning. Many people confuse Frank Ocean's choice of example and the title of the song as a d1ss towards Islam because he sings "Allahu Akbar," which is Arabic for "God is great," and then goes on to sing "but don't ċüŕṩệ me," in reply to the Taxi driver that is praying an Islamic prayer for him. What he's really saying is that his ̾s̾e̾xuality isn't accepted by Islamic religion, or many other religions, he just chose to use Islam as an example. What he's really titling a "Bad Religion" is his love for someone who doesn't love him back: unrequited love.
Second, there are many top famous Kpop artists who shared this song at the time of its release. For example, Big Bang's leader G-Dragon suggested this song to fans in 2012 while SuperM Ten also suggested this song in his playlist.
Not only that, there are many artists who have attended concerts and supported Frank Ocean's works. BLACKPINK Jennie even added Frank Ocean's Godspeed to her favorite playlist. The members of BLACKPINK also came to cheer and listen to Frank Ocean's music when he performed at Coachella.
It shows that neither Frank Ocean nor his song has any problems related to religious ιиѕυℓтs as many people allege. ARMYs pointed out that it was only when RM shared it that many people started to have negative thoughts, misrepresenting the good meaning of the song in order to blame him. These rumors have pushed RM to receive many unnecessary criticisms.
Fans are now demanding justice for him and asking others to stop mindlessly attacking RM:
- So you're telling me a bigbang member recommended bad religion in 2012 and no one called him out? Where's the outrage for this??
- This song is even older thn bangtan????? And no one bet an eye on it till now???
- The hypocrisy makes me so angry
- ofc it turned out like this, not surprised at all akgaes and antis just wanna hate cos its joon. if it was anyone else they wouldnt bat an eye.
- No one protested in 2012 but then they focus on Joon??
- Ppl get jealous & then drag those who are more successful, simple
- Kpopies doesn't care about Frank Ocean until it's connected to BTS
- they're back at it again with the force hate
- okay where yall at the past 10 years ??
- Please, if you're not sure what a song is about, look for official content. Stop hating without a reason.
- Omggg, why are the People’s are like this? It's just a song.
- NAMJOON WE LOVE YOU NAMJOON THE BEST BOY NAMJOON THE PRETTIEST FLOWER NAMJOON OUR FOREVER ARTIST NAMJOON THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON
- As a muslim & army....I'm just literary confused situation & I don't like this but don't yall dare hate on joon for this......I fear this is gonna get drag to far...I saw it hours before but I choose not to say anything
- Let's be honest they aren't @ttacking him bc they think it's an h0mophobic song but they did because they felt it's the right moment to , if they supported him with the same energy they're @ttacking him Wild flower will already reach 1 billion
- NAMJOON THE PETTIEST FLOWER, WE LOVE YOU NAMJOON & WE WILL ALWAYS DEFEND YOU
- This is really scary. As a joon stan Idts I can just ignore this but anw I can never voice my opinions here openly knowing that if I say smthng u guys gonna hunt me down…
- I hope ppl see this and can see the artist’s perspective in writing this. I know many Muslim armys feel offended that Joon shared this song but I think this was prolly the viewpoint him and many others interpreted the song.
- when i first heard this song i was really mad because he could've used so many other religions but chose islam instead, but then i got to understand it and was a little less upset, so im gonna explain the song if you're interested to know what he truly meant
- toxic muslim's must just stop like if ur homophobic its not RM's problem
- Speaking as a muslim,RM shouldn't be the one at blame, if you pay close attention to the lyrics it's not islamophobic, it's about one sided gay relationship, kp00pies bringing islam to hate on RM as if they actually care about islam