News from Civsy, based on human monitoring, generative AI tools and retrieval-augumented real time data searchMario Moubarak, a Lebanese stand up comedian associated with the underground platform Awk.word, became the centre of a major controversy in late 2025 after a joke about Jesus was isolated from one of his performances and turned into a criminal case. His experience shows how artistic expression in Lebanon is increasingly exposed to coordinated online outrage, religious pressure and the use of blasphemy provisions in the penal code.
From “I Believe” to an outrage cycle
On 18 May 2025 Awk.word published a full length recording of Moubarak’s stand up set “I Believe,” in which he reflects on faith, doubt and personal experience, including a brief line saying that Jesus’ burial “probably was not successful, since in the end he got up.” In late November a short, edited clip focusing on this sentence was republished on social media without the surrounding context, captioned in a way that framed the joke as deliberate blasphemy rather than part of a longer narrative. Christian activist networks, including accounts linked to the group Jnūd al Rabb, shared the video widely and Moubarak soon faced doxxing, his phone number being circulated and a stream of death threats and insults across platforms.
Religious escalation and legal complaint
As online pressure grew, Father Abdo Abou Qassem, director of the Catholic Information Center, issued a public statement calling on Lebanon’s top public prosecutor Jamal Hajjar to take criminal measures against Moubarak, arguing that freedom of expression could not be used to mock religious symbols or the words of Christ. The statement, released only days before a planned papal visit, gave institutional weight to the campaign and helped push the issue into mainstream media coverage. Lawyer Aimée Helou then filed a complaint accusing the comedian of publicly belittling and blaspheming the name of Jesus Christ, relying on penal code provisions that criminalise blasphemy and contempt for religion.
Arrest, interrogation and ongoing investigation
When Moubarak returned to Lebanon from Montreal on 6 December 2025 he was arrested by security forces at Beirut Airport, and his passport and phone were confiscated as if he were a security suspect. On 8 December he was questioned by the Central Criminal Investigations division, where he stated that the clip was taken out of context, that he had no intention of insulting Christianity and that he was willing to delete the video and avoid similar material in future, after which he was released but kept under investigation. The full “I Believe” performance, however, remains online on Awk.word’s channel, while the case continues, underscoring how Lebanon’s vague blasphemy and “offending religious sanctities” laws can be used to turn a joke into a long running legal threat.
References:
Daraj, “When a Joke Becomes a Security Case: The Mario Moubarak Case” (8 December 2025).[daraj]
SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, “The Mario Moubarak Outrage Cycle.”[skeyesmedia]
SKeyes, “Freedom of Expression Violations in the Levant – November 2025” (section on Mario Moubarak).[skeyesmedia]
Bihorriya, “Violations of freedom of religion and belief in Lebanon.”[bihorriya]
Bihorriya, “Overview of Freedom of Religion and Belief in Lebanon.”[bihorriya]
LBCI / Catholic Information Center coverage and statement by Father Abdo Abou Qassem on insults to the Christian religion.[lbcgroup]
Awk.word / YouTube upload of Mario Moubarak’s full set “I Believe.”tiktok
