Rihanna, or RiRi as the singer is popularly known, landed in a bit a of a soup recently - she was booted from a mosque in Abu Dhabi over a racy photoshoot.
The pop artiste was asked to leave the famous Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque in Abu Dhabi over the weekend, after she posed for some photos that were inappropriate and did not conform to the holy site's regulations, compromising the sanctity of the mosque.
"She was asked to leave before entering the actual mosque, (she was in the courtyard taking pictures) after taking some photos that did not fit within the rules and regulations set out to preserve the sacredness of the center," the mosque said in a statement.
Rihanna was touring Abu Dhabi and was in town for a concert. She visited the courtyard of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which is a major tourist attraction and welcomes non-Muslims. The mosque opened in 2007 and is the largest religious center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The high-profile mosque accounted for nearly 3 million visitors in 2012.
According to a mosque spokesperson, Rihanna came for a private tour to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, but entered from a gate that is not meant for visitors. Moreover, Rihanna did so without prior coordination and did not identify herself.
What created a furor was Rihanna posed for suggestive pictures inside the mosque, which the singer uploaded to her Instagram account "badgalriri." Even though Rihanna was covered up by her standards, wearing a head-to-toe covering dark outfit with the traditional hijab or head scarf on, the 25-year old pop star did not conform with the mosque's standards as she had posed in a provocative and suggestive manner.
In the pictures posted on her Instagram account, RiRi can be seen pouting wearing a red lipstick with the mosque as the background. In another photo she is lying on her back in the mosque's courtyard and the image has the caption "no tan lines."
Yet another image which shows other Muslim women attired similarly has the caption "Bitch stole my look."
Rihanna, however, did not ruffle any feathers during concert with the "Empress Riri" look that was Bedouin inspired.
