A UK DJ has narrowly dodged jail time in Tunisia after giving the ‘Muslim Call To Prayer’ a techno remix during his set at the country’s Orbit Festival.
Dax J was ordered to serve a year behind bars after footage of him giving the sacred Islamic ‘Adhan’ a bit of banger treatment went viral, catching the attention of the Arabic nation’s authorities.
Luckily for the beat-dropper, he’d fled the country before the Tunisian fuzz could take him into custody. But the same can’t be said for the owner of the venue that hosted his set.
According to the BBC, Orbit Fest nightclub El Guitone has been shut down and will “remain closed” until further notice following the incident, while its manager has been arrested and detained “for violation against good morals and public outrage against modesty”.
An investigation is also reportedly underway.
Meanwhile, DJ Dax J will remain a free man, as long as he doesn’t return to the country for five years, which is when the charges against him will expire.
Following his lucky escape, the Dax has released a statement on Facebook addressing the controversy. It reads:
“I wish to express my deepest apologies to anyone who has been offended by the music that I played at the Orbit Festival in Tunisia last Friday. I am incredibly saddened that anyone would believe that I played a track, featuring a 20 second vocal of the “Call To Prayer / Adhan”, for any reason other than its musicality and the beauty of the vocal.
As a result of this unfortunate and unintentional incident, yesterday in my absence and without notice, I was convicted in the Tunisian courts and sentenced to 1 year in prison. I am currently back in Europe and this conviction in place will expire in 5 years.
I hold the upmost [sic] respect for all religions across the globe and I can now understand how my recent actions could have been perceived in the wrong way. We must all take time to truly respect and appreciate everybody’s beliefs in this world to move forward as a global society.
Through this experience, I have gained a greater and deeper insight into the world that we live in. I will continue to create art through music, and I look forward to sharing this with you.”
The poor guy was probably just trying to pull a Sister Act 2 and make religion cool with the kids again.
Watch footage of Dax J’s criminal banger below.
