Indonesian Cops Nix Lady Gaga Concert

Religious fanatics appear to have made the world's biggest Muslim country a no-go for Gaga. Police in Indonesia have refused Lady Gaga a permit for her sold-out Jakarta concert, saying they would be unable to guarantee her safety following threats from an extremist group, reports the Guardian. The chief of the Islamic Defender Front has labeled her a "vulgar singer" spreading "Satanic teaching," and warned that his group was ready to "be thrown to jail and be killed" to prevent her from corrupting Islamic youth.

Other Western artists have faced opposition from Muslim extremists in Indonesia, but this is the first time protests have caused police to deny a permit. The show at Jakarta's 52,000-seat Gelora Bung Karno stadium would have been the biggest on Gaga's Asian tour. "I'm very disappointed," one ticket holder tells AP, saying that authorities only give "troublemakers" more power by bowing to their demands. "We are mature enough to be able to separate our own moral values from arts and culture," she says. (More Lady Gaga stories.)