Actor Charged With Blasphemy

Posts on social media range from defending the actor to arguing for the legitimacy of his arrest. User @_Ategnatos wrote, “Let's just call the whole Rafik Boubker thing what it really is: Unjustified drama. And what's up with all people campaigning to get him 'Jail time' and serve 'justice'? How about you go campaign against actual criminals? Ex: Rapists who only get few months in jail?” User @The-NewArab posted, “Moroccan actor Rafik Boubker arrested after telling people to ‘make their ablution with wine and perform prayers with whiskey.’” And @meonewsen wrote, “Moroccan actor Rafik Boubker stands accused over video on social media in which he appears in abnormal state, making blasphemous remarks against #Islam, attacking sacredness of worship.”

Misbar's investigation shows that Boubker was placed in police custody following a decision by the public prosecutor of Casablanca’s Court of First Instance.

The General Directorate for National Security said that it “monitored digital content published on social media, in which the suspect appears in an abnormal condition, insulting the Islamic religion and violating the reverence for acts of worship.” Several citizens complained about the Instagram video, in which Boubker appeared drunk and compared mosques to bars. In the video, Boubker said, “We are at the mosque since bars are closed because of the lockdown. The bar of the mosque.”

Boubker later posted another video apologizing and saying that he is still a Muslim. Since his comments were mostly about drinking and not about Islam itself, the claim is misleading.