Charged with blasphemy, kicked out of school, and—perhaps worst of all—loving Maroon 5.
Five high schoolers in Toli Toli, Indonesia, have had their lives turned upside down after a video of themselves praying and dancing to “One More Night” hit YouTube.
The video, in which the girls repeatedly, playfully switch between praying and getting down to Adam Levine’s pop-funk wail, was recorded by a sixth student, who wasn’t charged. The husband of a teacher at the girls’ school saw people watching the video on YouTube in a public market, according to the Jakarta Globe, and that prompted a school investigation.
Indonesia boasts the largest Muslim population in the world, and is known to bring blasphemy charges against citizens who insult Islam.
The girls have already been expelled, and missed a nationwide exam that determines whether a student can graduate high school.
A local police chief told Indonesian news site JPNN that he’d charged the girls with blasphemy, for which they’d face juvenile detention, but that there’s a “possibility” they’ll face additional charges.
The video so offended some that “dozens” of members of a group called the Islamic Defenders Front protested in front of a local police station, NineMSN reported
Indonesian minors convicted of blasphemy usually face two and a half years in juvenile detention.
Screengrab via YouTube