Rihanna's mosque photoshoot slammed
PUBLISHED ONOctober 24, 2013 8:00 PM
She used a mosque in Abu Dhabi as the backdrop for her pictures, but she didn't get permission to shoot there.
Worse, pop diva Rihanna posted the pictures on photo-sharing website Instagram - and they were panned even by her fans.
She was asked to leave the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the Mail Online reported.
Staff members at the mosque were quoted as saying that the 25-year-old superstar's actions were considered to be at odds with the "sanctity" of the site.
Photos on her Instagram account during the weekend showed her on white marble wearing a head-to-toe hooded black jumpsuit. But she had bright red lipstick and large gold accessories.
The mosque released a statement, and although it does not name Rihanna, it refers to a "recent incident, involving a singer".
It said the singer "left without entering the mosque, after being asked to do so, due to the fact that she had taken some pictures that do not conform with the conditions and regulations put in place by the Centre's management to regulate visits in a way that takes the status and sanctity of the mosque into consideration".
Many of her fans attacked her for the photos, which have since appeared on websites across the world.
One user of microblogging service Twitter, @Ahmedcarter, tweeted: "Rihanna pics at Sheikh Zayed mosque are disrespectful to the place of worship."
Cultural expert Ali Al Saloom told 7DaysinDubai, a Dubai news website: "I feel disappointed that she shared photos on Instagram that are inappropriate to the values of our religion and our Arab tradition, which values modesty and respect to the most important venue that has our father of the nation HH Sheikh Zayed's graveyard."
Rihanna has yet to respond. She is on her Diamonds tour, having arrived in Abu Dhabi from South Africa. Her fans in Johannesburg were reportedly upset over her alleged lip-synching and lacklustre performance, entertainment website RadarOnline reported.
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