Rihanna was asked to leave the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi over the weekend after posing for pictures for an impromptu photo session that were "considered to be at odds with the sanctity of the site," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Even though the 25-year-old star was dressed respectfully, her body and head covered all in black, her photoshoot on the grounds of the compound was considered inappropriate by the Grand Mosque staff, who allegedly disapproved of the fashion-style poses she was striking in an area deemed off-limits for visitors.
"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," the mosque said in a statement released to local newspapers. "Here, the Centre refers to a recent incident, involving a singer who came for a private visit to the mosque, at a gate that is not reserved for visitors, without prior coordination with the Centre's management and without identifying herself."
In one photo, Rihanna is lying down on a fountain edge and appears to be sunbathing, the picture captioned on Instagram, "Abu Dhabi #NoTanLines."
Rihanna posted the photos to Instagram and Twitter, and fan responses were mixed.
"Rihanna may look gorgeous and all but she's covering her head out of fashion not out of respect for the mosque," one user wrote, while another tweeted, “I don’t see how Rihanna posing adjacent to a mosque in Abu Dhabi is disrespectful. If anything she’s showing respect by supporting the hijab.”
The singer is currently in the UAE on her "Diamonds World Tour," scheduled to visit Tel Aviv next. She will finish up the last leg of the tour in North America, her final show set for Nov. 15 in New Orleans.
Click here to see more from Rihanna's photo session in front of the Grand Mosque.
