Indonesia: Islamic cleric issues fatwa against selfies

A popular Indonesian Muslim cleric has issued a fatwa against taking selfies leading to a series of defiant selfies shared by scores of locals.

Felix Siauw, a locally well-known author and speaker, has poured scorn on "shameless" women who post their selfies, and has questioned their "purity".

In a barrage of tweets, the 30-year-old cleric, who calls himself a "servant of Allah" and a seeker to "establish Shariah-caliphate", explained why selfies should be avoided by Muslims.

Siauw wrote: "If we take a selfie, sift through and choose our best pose, and then we're awed and impressed by ourselves – worryingly, that's called PRIDE."

In another post, he said: "These days many Muslim women take selfies without shame. There are usually nine frames in one photo with facial poses that are just – My Goodness – where's the purity in women?"

Nonetheless, his remarks have sparked outrage on Twitter and other social media platforms with several Indonesians posting their own selfies in defiance.

The hashtag "#Selfie4Siauw" had also begun trending on Twitter.

However, this is not the first time that a fatwa against selfies has been issued. Earlier, in Saudi Arabia, an Islamic scholar had urged Muslims to avoid taking selfies during their Hajj pilgrimage.

Here are some tweets posted by users.