Five Indonesian teenage girls have been accused of blasphemy and may face jail after making a video in which they mixed Islamic prayer with dancing to a Maroon 5 song, police said Tuesday.

The girls were expelled from their high school in Tolitoli city, on Sulawesi island, and reported to police after the video of their dance to the US band's hit "One More Night" went viral online.

It is just the latest in a string of blasphemy cases in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, which have prompted rights groups to call for a change in a law they say is outdated and misused.

In the five-minute clip, the girls, wearing school tracksuits, switch between Islamic prayer rituals and mostly innocent dancing, with the occasional pelvic thrust and suggestive hand gesture thrown in.

Several versions of the video on YouTube have been viewed more than 500,000 times.

It sparked anger in the remote community, with dozens of members of hardline group the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) protesting outside the local police station on Monday.

The school brought the video, which was posted online in March, to the attention of police who questioned the girls on suspicion of blasphemy.

"The school and members of the community were offended by the video and felt it insulted Islam," Tolitoli police chief Rudi Mulyanto told AFP.

"We are considering the case, and if we think it is serious, we will recommend they be officially charged in court."

He said the girls, who are not in custody, could be jailed if found guilty but did not know what length of sentence they might face.

Blasphemy in Indonesia carries a maximum sentence of five years, though minors usually face half the adult sentence and are locked up in juvenile detention facilities. The girls are in grade 12, where students are normally aged 17 or 18.

Police did not give their ages but said they were being treated as minors.

The school principal told a local news website that the school had consulted the country's top clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council, as well as the FPI on the matter.

see video link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6PgDs3VQhx0

These people are living in bondage all in the name of religion.
Thank God I am free .

a teen will always be a teen, its as a result of their developmental stage during which they need help, understanding and proper guidance instead of locking them up in a religious prison

Western culture & Islam the two don't mix

Lilimax:
These people are living in bondage all in the name of religion.
Thank God I am free .

I laugh in Chinese. You know what you will do for me? On the next environmental sanitation day, start driving around Lagos at 8pm, you can start with Alausa. Freedom is sweet.

oloriooko: a teen will always be a teen, its as a result of their developmental stage during which they need help, understanding and proper guidance instead of locking them up in a religious prison

Their lawyer might argue this, but it is highly unlikely it will work.

These girls though young should not be treated like criminals but should be corrected and helped.

I know that most of Indonesia laws are gruesome and wicked yet their leaders are corrupt including the country as a whole.

fanatics !

Rubbish...so they won't exhibit or display their youthful exuberance and just have a little fun coz of religion.
It's not like they had sex with an american, common song...nawa...

My post is not offensive by the way as I can see the rule.

Awww, this is a misdemeanor, the girls shouldn't go to jail for it. Hmmm that area is harsh o.

Wow dont know if to be happy or sad for those girls but tank goodness dat dey are in indonesia where blasphemy carries 5yr jail term unlike some muslim countries where they will be killed or sentenced to life imprisonment.

Very baddd!!

manmustwac: Western culture & Islam the two don't mix

what are you trying to promote, religion of bondage?

Ada Nri1: Awww, this is a misdemeanor, the girls shouldn't go to jail for it. Hmmm that area is harsh o.

de is ntn lyk harsh der...bcs De desrve it

Islam....neva in the news for positive things. Bringer of death and top wickedness

manmustwac: Western culture & Islam the two don't mix

But western BenZ, Lamboghini, Ak-47 and how to make bomb can mix abi

Maybe they should count their lucky stars that it is just jail time and not something worse like a public be-heading

They go against the law of the country trying to be funny...

To avoid being banned, please ensure that your post is not offensive to any religion.

**Exits thread without commenting.**

Can you imagine?

That's what our Nigerian northeners are clamoring for in this jet age. So barbaric

@Ada Nri1. My sister Islam is harsh because it is a religion that is married to the Law, and 'the Law' by nature is harsh and unforgiving.

maclatunji:

I laugh in Chinese. You know what you will do for me? On the next environmental sanitation day, start driving around Lagos at 8pm, you can start with Alausa. Freedom is sweet.

And what has that got to do with the emphasis she placed on her comment? It's one thing to break a law that has been constituted like moving about during sanitation which you know you shouldn't and a totally different thing to be threatened with a jail sentence just because of what does not hold water like what this hypocritical indonesian authorities are barking about. I don't believe you made the above comment. Try saying something more sensible next time in defence of your religion

To avoid being banned, please ensure that
your post is not offensive to any religion.
I love islam!

I don't even get how they were praying and dancing at thesame time abi dem be d islamic version of cele ? Make dem no go waste thos small girls life for prison for nothing o ! Na small pikin tin dem do so. Ps make una park one corner with this una mumu warning jor

Decryptor: And what has that got to do with the emphasis she placed on her comment? It's one thing to break a law that has been constituted like moving about during sanitation which you know you shouldn't and a totally different thing to be threatened with a jail sentence just because of what does not hold water like what this hypocritical indonesian authorities are barking about. I don't believe you made the above comment. Try saying something more sensible next time in defence of your religion

No need to reply him, all he has done is explain to NL that Islam is a very subjective religion, just like a proposed law where u go unpunished if you flout the rules, same applies to Islamic religion. For him to equate his religion to a mandatory law proves one more reason why Islam as a religion is VERY INTOLERANT.

God save those poor kids. Thank God for my beliefs which doesn't enslave me

spongeback: To avoid being banned, please ensure that
your post is not offensive to any religion.
I love islam!

There u have it

Religion of PEACE... A religion and GOD that I have to defend is really not worth the hype..

I pity muslim women, they are always the victim

Nothing is sweeter than Freedom (Except God)

To avoid being banned, please ensure that your post is not offensive to any religion

*deletes original post, walks to another site where there is freedom to speak*

I love the video,

http://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=256984981088910&refid=8&_ft_=qid.5878248329183573582%3Amf_story_key.9135093194215685750