Selena Gomez Deletes Abu Dhabi Mosque Photo After Criticism

[big_dog]

Pop star Selena Gomez has tweeted and deleted a photograph of herself baring her ankle during a visit to a mosque in the United Arab Emirates after sparking outrage online with the inappropriate snap. The singer jetted to the Middle East with a group of pals, including models Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, last weekend for an end-of-year vacation.

She has been sharing snaps of her travels on her social networks this week, showing off shots of the girls wearing modest black robes with traditional hijabs, as is the custom in the Muslim country, but one image, depicting Gomez and a male pal inside the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi with the singer’s floor-length gown lifted slightly to reveal her lower calf and bare ankle, caused controversy amid allegations she was disrespecting the local religious culture.

Females are forbidden from displaying their legs inside Islamic places of worship. The image prompted a barrage of criticism from fellow Twitter and Instagram users, leading Gomez to quietly delete the snap without commenting on the scandal. Another photo of the whole group laughing as the pals posed on the grounds of the mosque has also been blasted as disrespectful as smiling and laughing at places of worship are also frowned upon in Islamic culture. However, that picture remains online. http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2015/01/02/selena-gomez-deletes-mosque-photo-after-criticism/

[NutmegYankee]

1. Is this really news? Young people do dumb things like this everyday.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. Compared to an article about baring ankle at the Vatican, this seems almost scandalous.

[oberliner]

3. What was the dumb thing?

Perhaps it was an act of defiance.

[NutmegYankee]

4. I thought it was probably just youthful ignorance.

Since neither she nor her friends know the culture, they probably didn't know it was offensive. If it was an act of defiance against their dress codes, it is in poor taste to do it in a place of worship, but I would have expected the photo to stay up in that case.

[Dreamer Tatum]

10. Yeah, I will hazard a guess that if the religions were swapped around

you'd probably be a mite less sensitive.

[NutmegYankee]

13. What do you mean?

I would take it the people outraged over her photos are sensitive about it. I responded that I don't think it's news.

[big_dog]

6. its seems awfully innocent to me. the laughing with her friends in a holy spot seems worse

she is young as well and not up on things

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. There are no holy spots anywhere on Earth, period. nt

[JI7]

5. why do you always post shit like this ?

[TexasTowelie]

7. For some reason I am reminded of the show American Dad

when they had the Stan of Arabia shows and the family had to escape the country for their multiple violations of the law.

That group of girls could be in danger.

[NuclearDem]

8. This is totally relevant and I care.

How was that?

[Enrique]

9. she self-deleted her post?

hm, could it be? Could big_dog be Selena Gomez?

[chrisa]

12. Oh my gosh - an ankle!? How dare she!

I hate fundamentalists - especially whiny man-children who start sniveling at the very thought of the female body.

Some traditions deserve to be disrespected because they're stupid.