Saudi singer Rotana Tarabzouni was seen dancing on stage during a set that was controversially concluded with a Quran recital.
US-based Saudi singer Rotana Tarabzouni triggered outrage online after appearing in a video that showed her conclude a dance by reciting verses from the Quran.
Tarabzouni performed the set in Arizona where she danced along to one of her own songs before ending with a recitation of the first verse from the holy Muslim book, al-Fatiha (The Opening), to an audience.
The singer, who has been previously praised for “smashing Saudi stereotypes”, was named as one of the BBC's 100 Most Powerful Women and shortlisted as one of the Grazia Style Awards KSA's nominations for Emerging Talent for her contribution to the industry.
The former international media-relations officer at Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, moved to LA to pursue her career in music but has maintained close ties with her Saudi homeland.
She boasts more than 50,000 followers on Instagram, where she regularly posts updates of her life in Los Angeles.
But despite her success, the young artist -unsurprisingly - triggered a barrage of criticism after the clip was posted online, prompting her to shut down her Instagram account.
لايك اذا هذا أغرب مقطع شفته في حياتك pic.twitter.com/Q1WbXBw3Jo
— حسين واشنطن (@il_santo76) 13 May 2019
Social media users were quick to comment on the video, with many suggesting the artist had crossed a line.
Absolutely disgusting. This is our holy Quran, the words sent down to us by Allah (swt) to our Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).It ISN’T some song to sing and dance around to. Our religion is not some type of boho trend for you. Very disappointing, especially in the holy month of Ramadan. pic.twitter.com/EHBCJ0dGwE
— Mimi🌿🕊 (@mxrubae) 14 May 2019
Quran isn’t an entertainment for y’all, your not supposed to dance and sing to it. I’m in shock and speechless..She has crossed the line in so many different levels. It’s incredibly disrespectful and extremely sad.
— *🕊 (@omba1402) 13 May 2019
But despite the backlash, the performance was met with some praise
I actually think it’s fascinating. In Sufism the Quran is sung in a spiritual dance as an act of devotion to God and I think @IAmRotana did a beautiful rendition of that.
— mary magdalene (@maryamalqassimi) 13 May 2019
Some interpretations of Islam consider music to be forbidden and mixing songs with the Quran is deemed to be highly disrespectful to the religion and its 1.6 billion followers.
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