October 21, 2013
Rihanna was asked to leave the site of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi after posing for photographs there over the weekend that the shrine’s overseers said had violated the “sanctity” of the site.
In photos that Rihanna posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts, she is seen posing at the mosque site, in the United Arab Emirates capital city. Though she is fully covered in the photographs, with only her face, hands and painted fingernails visible in some of the shots, these images drew some negative responses from online commenters, like one who responded with an obscene word, adding: “Leave our holy place and keep your filth away from it. We don’t need you.”
The Associated Press, citing a statement from the overseers of the mosque that was published in local newspapers, said Rihanna was in a part of the mosque that is not open to visitors and that the photo shoot was not in accordance with the “status and sanctity of the mosque.” A press representative for Rihanna said on Monday morning that she did not have any other information on the incident.
The New York Times: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/rihanna-asked-to-leave-mosque-in-abu-dhabi/
