Mnet has come under massive fire this week for apparently “disrespecting Islam” in “Street Woman Fighter” (스트릿 우먼 파이터), the new survival show hosted by former Wanna One member Kang Daniel.
It appears that the controversy sparked when Muslim fans noticed that a remixed version of an azan (also written as adzan and adhan) was used in the introduction sequence of the dance competition programme.
I need yall on raising awareness on a very controversial topic about mnet's editing.
In Street Woman fighter Mnet decided to use Adhan as an intro [from 00:57 – 1:40]@MnetKR pic.twitter.com/8UR0knE3Yz— 717 (@luotianguo) September 4, 2021
https://twitter.com/xuxindr/status/1435250950071980036
For those who don’t know, the azan refers to the Islamic call for Muslims to perform prayers, which is recited at prescribed times of the day. It is considered sacred among the Muslims and something that many of them take very seriously. Soon after the issue came to light, enraged fans took to Twitter and started trending the hashtag #Mnetapologize on social media.
A number of Muslim viewers expressed their frustration over the fact that their religion is being used by Mnet for “aesthetic purposes”. Other than that, they have also called for the South Korean music channel to issue a public apology, apart from to stop using the soundtrack in the show.
Amid all the backlash, a few other netizens have also discovered that the intro sequence used was not originally created by Mnet, but it actually was taken from a song by the British band Losers. The track, titled “Azan”, was released back in 2010. Following this, the comments section on their official YouTube channel has since been flooded with with people expressing their frustration towards the group.
As a Muslim, I want mnet to apologize because they used adhan as an intro for street woman fighter. Do you think you can remix and glitch it like a music @MnetKR??? #Mnetapologize
— bat (@imfoive0325) September 7, 2021
Please respect us as Muslims
APOLOGIZE#Mnetapologize @MnetKR pic.twitter.com/4tIhgH94Vp
— dani (@txminkyou) September 7, 2021
https://twitter.com/liraluvmagic/status/1435289213017079809
https://twitter.com/hjjnie/status/1435398629569695748
Regarding controversy of mnet using adzan on their intro, mnet used a remix called Azan by Losers and it's mnet fault for not researching about it first. Please do report the sound on youtube and #MnetApologize pic.twitter.com/gnFV9mhuZw
— nimie⁷ 🍉 wilmon endgame! (@royaItannie) September 7, 2021
Regardless of the song’s origin, Muslim audiences are still demanding for Mnet to address the situation. So far, the broadcasting station has yet to publicly respond to the recent controversy.
Update (Thursday, 9th September):
After facing massive backlash from the public, the production team of Mnet’s “Street Woman Fighter” has finally issued an official apology for the controversial incident that took place recently. In the official statement posted on their Instagram, they also revealed that they will re-upload the clip using different background music and promised to listen to the opinions of viewers all over the world.
Feel free to read their full statement here:
Sources: Jazmine Media, Koreaboo.
