Rihanna Gets The Boot in Abu Dhabi Mosque

Never a stranger to breaking rules, Rihanna gets pointed to the exit while performing an impromtu photo shoot at a Mosque in Abu Dhabi but hey the photos were worth it!

Rihanna is currently touring in Abu Dhabi, and has already made some pretty big news over there: she managed to get herself kicked out of a mosque for staging an “inappropriate” photo shoot.

Granted,the famously provocative singer actually toned down her stage attire (she wore pants!), and she even donned an hijab, a traditional Muslim head covering, while touring the city, presumably in deference to local culture and traditions. But, she couldn’t quite avoid controversy entirely: She decided to do a photo shoot, lensed by Steven Gomillion and Dennis Leupold, in front of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, which she then posted on Instagram. According to The Telegraph, the Centre asked her to pack up her crew and leave, and then released this statement:

The Centre strives to ensure that visitors enter the mosque in a decent fashion, and refrain from behaving in any way that is inconsistent with the sanctity of this religious place. In the event of behaviour that violates the moral codes of access to the mosque, or other visit regulations – such as taking inappropriate pictures, posing in ways that are improper in the context of sacred place, talking loudly, or eating – the violators are directed in a polite manner that reflects the civilisational and tolerant attributes of Islam. Usually, the visitors are appreciative of that. Riri received some strong comments on the photos on her Instagram account. While many people–Muslim and non-Muslim alike–praised her for wearing the hijab, some accused her of wearing it as a fashion accessory rather than as a sign of respect to the culture, and many condemned her for shooting what essentially looks like a fashion spread in front of a holy place.