Absolutely Haram

Absolutely haram refers to a popular series of reaction image macros, depicting Egyptian cleric Murgan Salem al-Gohary or other Islamic religious figures, combined with the titular captions.

The meme is used online to express disapproval, stating that something is directly opposing the teachings of Islam, being the antithesis for Mashallah.

The original screenshot, used in the first instances of the image macro series originates from an interview with Egyptian religious figure and former Taliban member Murgan Salem al-Gohary on Memri TV, broadcast in Egypt in November 2012.

During the interview, the cleric is calling for the destruction of the Sphynx and the pyramids, claiming them to be pagan idols that must not be worshipped.

The first image macro depicting the man, paired with the captions “Absolutely haram”, inspired by the Absolutely Disgusting meme, were shared on the /ck/ board of 4chan on April 25^th, 2014.

By the end of 2014, the meme spread to various sites online, including various 4chan boards, like /pol/ and /tg/ while also emerging on Twitter and even YouTube.

Over the following years, the “Absolutely haram” meme spread to even more sites, like Reddit and 9GAG and even spawned a variation, that is meant to express the opposite reaction, Absolutely Halal.

• Reddit.com – r/Draven
• Knowyourmeme.com – Absolutely Haram