A woman caused a major commotion at a mosque in Java, Indonesia on Sunday when she stormed into the premises without removing her sandals, let loose her pet canine in the prayer hall and loudly berated stupefied congregants.
The incident, which took place at Masjid Al Munawaroh in Sentul City, Bogor, at 2pm on June 30 was captured on video – a clip of which has gone hugely viral on social media. Incidentally, a small number of Malaysian netizens had their hackles raised when it was initially believed that the skirmish had occurred in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. That misunderstanding was quickly rectified.
According to TribuneNews.com, the 52-year-old woman, identified only by her initials “S.M.”, had charged into the mosque and began loudly demanding to see her husband. It is understood that S.M. suspected that her husband was in the process of having his second marriage solemnised at the mosque – and she was hell-bent on putting a stop to it.
In the early stage of her tirade, S.M. was approached by two men – worshippers who had been conducting their Zohor prayers and not mosque officials – who were horrified that she was soiling the mosque floor with her shoes, and, more alarmingly, that she was carrying a small dog.
When the men asked S.M. to immediately leave the premises, she deliberately dropped the small pooch to the floor and let it run loose – stunning the congregants. (Dogs are considered inherently unclean in Islam).
Appalled by her action, one of the two men began to forcefully push the woman towards the exit – but she angrily stood her ground and became even more belligerent.
An astonished crowd began to gather around S.M. and the two men, who were weaving hither and thither as they occasionally physically grappled with each other. All the while, S.M. continued howling for her husband and demanding to know why mosque officials were allowing his alleged second marriage to take place.
The lapdog, meanwhile, is chased away midway through the 1-minute-and-9-second video by congregants who were at a loss as to what to do (touching canines is verboten among Southeast Asian Muslims).
Kompas.com reported that the police were alerted to the situation, and a team arrived shortly afterwards to confront and pacify S.M.. She was then arrested and brought to the Bogor police station.
In a statement to the media today, a Bogor police spokesperson said that an initial investigation revealed that S.M. is suffering from depression.