Popstar Rihanna was asked to leave an Rihannamosque because she did not have permission for a photoshoot, it emerged today.
Staff at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque say they asked the singer to leave the compound after her actions were considered to be at odds with the ‘sanctity’ of the site.
Photos posted on her Instagram account at the weekend show the 25-year-old posing on white marble wearing a head-to-toe hooded black jumpsuit.
But today it emerged that Rhianna and her team was not given permission to take photos at the mosque, the main place of worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers.
The mosque, which is the largest in the UAE and can hold more than 40,000 people, released a statement, and although it does not name Rhianna, 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 the singer for the photos which have since appeared on websites across the world.
‘Rihanna may look gorgeous and all but she’s covering her head out of fashion not out of respect for the mosque,’ wrote one user.
Rihanna hasn’t publicly responded to the actions by staff at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which is a major tourist site in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.
