Lady Gaga's Born This Way banned in Lebanon

Lebanese officials have reportedly banned Lady Gaga's new album, deeming it "offensive to Christianity". Police have impounded copies of Born This Way, currently No 1 from London to Tokyo. Its recent single, Judas, has been criticised by Catholic groups and was banned from Lebanese radio in April.

Lebanon's office of general security impounded boxes of Born This Way as they arrived at Beirut international airport last week, according to the LA Times. Though officials first claimed to be "deciding what to do" with the albums, there are now reports of a ruling based on article 75 of Lebanon's law for distribution of print media: "Distributors are prohibited from circulating media that diverges from public decency and morality, or is at odds with nationalistic or religious beliefs." Lebanon has 18 officially recognised religions, which include five Catholic sects. Maronite Catholics make up more than 20% of the population.

As a song, Judas is scarcely filled with heresy: "I'm just a holy fool," Gaga sings, "but I'm still in love with Judas." The video is a little more controversial, borrowing the kind of imagery Madonna used in the 80s. Gaga flounces with biker-gang versions of the disciples, flirting with Judas, Jesus and, well, everybody else. Any government ban of the song would apparently have to be requested by Lebanon's Catholic Information Centre. "If they are going to offend us we are going to cancel the album," explained Father Abdo Abu Kassm, director of the centre. "We will not accept that anyone insult the Virgin Mary or Jesus or Christianity ... Call us traditional, call us backward, call us whatever you want. We will not accept it."

Meanwhile, Lebanon's information ministry insisted that it "is, and always has been, against all forms of censorship". Information minister Tarek Mitri previously worked to lift a ban on animated film Persepolis, which was accused of being "offensive to Iran and Islam". But Mitri's opinion is only academic: the final ruling seems to have been made by the office of general security.

"Lady Gaga has a huge fan base in Lebanon," said Fady Masoud, senior music supervisor at Beirut's Virgin Megastore. "We care that this CD be released because it will produce great revenue." In its first week, Born This Way sold more than 2m copies worldwide.

In March, Born This Way's title track was banned by Malaysian radio for its "offensive" references to homosexuality.