Jailed for offending Islam in Morocco over an 'Allah is a lesbian» T-shirt»
Feminist and LGTBIQ+ activist Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar was arrested after posting a photo wearing a T-shirt that read "Allah is lesbian". It is an offence that can carry up to five years' imprisonment in Morocco.
'Allah is lesbian» T-shirt and X post
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Many international media outlets —among them The Debate— have echoed the arrest in Morocco of the feminist and LGTBIQ+ activist Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar. The cause is a photograph posted on social media in which she appeared wearing a T-shirt with the inscription “Allah is lesbian”, accompanied by a clear message critical of the Islamic religion: «Islam, like any religious ideology, is fascist, phallocentric and misogynistic.a».
The arrest took place on 10 August 2025 after the public prosecutor's office opened an investigation for “offence against Islam”. The offence is defined in the Moroccan Penal Code with penalties that can reach up to Five years' imprisonment when the alleged offence is publicly disseminated, including via the Internet. The trial began on 13th August, but it was postponed to the 27th August At the defence's request, who has applied for bail to prepare legal arguments. Until then, Lachgar remains in preventive detention.
Update 4 September 2025: According to the EFE Agency, he has been convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment and a €4,700 fine.
Threats of death, rape and lynching
The post triggered an avalanche of reactions on social media, including Thousands of death, rape and lynching threats against the activist. In the face of social and political pressure, the case was taken to court. The charges have surprised many observers, since The feminist and LGTBIQ+ activist had been sharing images wearing the same T-shirt since 2022, and had even worn it in a 2021 interview on the French television channel LCI, without any legal action being taken..
According to sources close to the activist, during the first week after publication there was no institutional reaction. Everything changed the 9th August, when a wave of anonymous accounts —many linked to the Morisco identity movement, known for its cyberbullying campaigns against feminist groups—began to attack her en masse and even to label her. Directorate General of National Security. A few days later, the prosecution decided to act.
Lachgar's struggle against homophobia and compulsory Islam
Betty Lachgar is a well-known figure in Morocco: a psychologist by training, co-founder of the Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties (MALI), and one of the few activists who openly declares herself an atheist in the country. In the past she had already carried out actions that sparked controversy, such as a “kiss-in” in defence of freedom of expression or communal public meals during Ramadan. She was a fellow activist alongside her. also the journalist Zineb El Rhazoui, co-founder of MALI, who, after those actions, had to go into exile in France, becoming one of the most critical voices of the Moroccan regime's official political Islam.
In Morocco, the’Homosexuality is punishable. with up to six years' imprisonment under Article 489 of the Penal Code. The legal prosecution corresponds to a predominantly hostile public opinion: according to the survey. Arab Barometer (2019), The Moroccans' 82% are homophobic. with interesting facts such as Only 71% would accept a gay neighbour.
In this context, Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar He is one of the few voices that openly challenges this social and legal consensus. Another of the fronts on which Lachgar has defied the established norms, namely those of Ramadan.. Morocco jails people for not fasting And even more, eating or drinking in public during this month can result in penalties. On several occasions, the activist has organised communal meals in broad daylight to denounce this imposition and to assert freedom of conscience, actions that generated as much controversy as their protests in favour of LGTBIQ+ rights.
The new case of Betty Lachgar it once again highlights the tensions between freedom of expression and the limits imposed by religion and official morality in Morocco. His arrest has sparked a debate that combines questions of faith, women's rights and sexual diversity, in a country where criticism of Islam and same-sex relationships continue to be severely punished.
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