Over the weekend, former K-pop idol Jay Kim (김재한), now known as Daud Kim, posted a video on his Instagram to share the news that he recently acquired land in Incheon, South Korea for him to build a Masjid or mosque one day. “My dream will come true. Please help me build a Masjid here,” he captioned the post while also giving bank details for fans to make their donations.
While many of his Muslim followers showed excitement for the YouTuber’s upcoming project, some were a bit sceptical about the whole ordeal, suspecting that it could also be a scam. Here’s what they said:
After Daud Kim made his special announcement, another famous Korean Muslim content creator shared her thoughts regarding donating money to a person’s private account. Ayana Jihye Moon (문지혜 아야나) posted several Instagram Stories to remind her followers about the dangers of donating without proper background check.
According to the influencer, an individual cannot open funding under a private account if the amount is more than KR₩10 Million (RM40k), even if it is for religious purposes. While she clarified that her posts had nothing to do with Daud Kim’s plans, it did raise concerns as netizens noticed that the “You Are My Everything” singer provided his personal bank account details without specifically mentioning the amount of money he would need to build the mosque.
Many also seemed to agree that there might be something suspicious about the 32-year-old’s plans with some saying how easy it was for him to acquire the land to build the religious building since the previous construction for a mosque in Dangu was abruptly suspended. Others brought up his past controversies and allegations to remind people to not blindly trust him just because they enjoy his content.
As for Daud Kim himself, the influencer responded to Ayana Moon’s post in an IG Story that reads, “A Korean Muslimah posted on social media that she doubts me building a Masjid. Okay, wait and see what a wonderful Masjid I will make! Insyallah.” The Korean wording underneath the English captions is apparently not a translation but rather a note that roughly translates to, “Just like I mentioned yesterday, if you can’t help me then carry on as you are”.
At the time of writing, Ayana has not made any explicit comments regarding Daud’s dream mosque in Incheon or his recent IG story post. Watch his announcement video below:
Update (Thursday, 18th April)
While there’s still no word from Ayana Moon on Daud Kim’s response, another celeb has spoken up about his mosque plans. Local influencer Farah Lee took to Instagram to advise everyone about the possible danger of the Korean singer’s suspicious donation funds. Just like Ayana mentioned previously, one cannot simply open a funding under a personal bank account.
Apart from that, it was also claimed that a certain popular Korean YouTuber did acquire land for a building but not for religious purposes. Plus, it would be difficult or impossible to build a mosque in that specific area due to road conditions. Here’s her full statement below:
