A foreign national from New Zealand with the initials ML went on a rampage because she disliked and felt disturbed by the sound of Quran recitation coming from the prayer room speakers in the Gili Trawangan village of North Lombok.
The incident took place on Thursday night, the 19th of February. ML reportedly pulled out a microphone cable, damaged it, and injured a resident who was reciting the Quran. The incident sparked anger among local residents, who urged ML to leave the place of worship. Footage of the incident subsequently went viral on social media, igniting outrage among netizens over what was widely perceived as an act of religious intolerance.
“Shut the f— up! All of you, shut the f— up!” yelled ML at local residents, as seen in the circulating footage of the incident.
Moreover, as seen in the footage, angry residents reprimanded ML and forced her to leave. They were also seen avoiding physical contact with the New Zealander. However, she continued her rampage by scratching one of the residents, causing injury.
The Head of Gili Trawangan village, Muhammad Husni, confirmed the incident. Husni explained that it occurred at approximately 11.30 PM local time on the premises of a community prayer room.
“While residents were reciting the Quran inside the prayer room, the foreigner [ML] suddenly entered, angrily unplugging the residents’ microphones. Her disrespectful actions immediately angered the residents,” he told the press on the following Friday (20th of February).
Husni also explained that residents were still permitted at that time to use overhead speakers, or toa, for tadarus (recitation of the Quran).
“Fortunately, our residents weren’t provoked [by ML] and continued to explain. Although some were emotional, no one retaliated [to ML] with physical violence,” he continued.
Following the incident, police stepped up security around both the prayer room and the villa where ML lives. She was also taken to the immigration office. After questioning, it was discovered that ML had overstayed her visitor visa.
“The person concerned has been taken to the immigration office for further investigation into her overstayed stay permit,” said Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the North Lombok Police, AKP I Komang Wilandra, on Sunday, 22nd of February.
A New Zealand tourist cut the microphone cable of a mosque on Trawangan Island in Indonesia and threatened locals and police with a knife because she couldn’t sleep due to the sound of their Quran recitation.
“Quran study” is a communal practice there, carried out over… pic.twitter.com/DjjQH1FDUJ
— GPX (@GPX_Press) February 21, 2026