Footage circulating online of a Kaaba-like structure with dancers circulating around it have caused a stir among Arab social media users, drawing outrage over alleged mockery of Islam’s holiest site.
The video, taken at one of the opening events of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season festival, shows a cube-shaped structure displaying bright lights and visuals, with dancers performing around it.
Observers compared the scenes to Muslim rituals performed at the Kaaba — the stone building at the centre of Mecca’s Grand Mosque that worshippers circumambulate around.
“Saudi Disgraced Islam with this. This is the opening of Riyadh’s entertainment season in Saudi Arabia this year. They had a model of the Holy Kaaba where they displayed images of singers and dancers,” one social media user wrote.
“Are there still [religious] scholars in Saudi Arabia? Are there still Muslims?” wrote another.
The footage also drew condemnation from an official in Yemen’s Sanaa-based Houthi movement, who took shot at the kingdom’s rulers.
Houthi Politburo member Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti said on X that the performance’s resemblance to the Muslim religious rituals indicated that de-facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the act.According to local media, a Saudi authority denied the presence of any idols or models around a Kaaba structure during Riyadh Season.
