Arabs Reject Rihanna's Apology for Insulting Islam

Rihanna came under fire after using a song featuring a sample from Islam's sacred Hadith texts during her 2020 Savage X Fenty event, which took place in Los Angeles earlier in October.

She received a backlash online for using the song “Doom,” a track by musical producer Coucou Chloe that samples a hadith by Prophet Muhammad.

Hadiths are sacred texts in Islam that represent the traditions or sayings of the prophet Muhammad.

The hadith in the “Doom” audio, which appears to draw on the theme of judgment day in the hadith segment, has been attributed to Kuwaiti preacher Mishary bin Rashid Alafasy.

Muslims and non-Muslims alike took to social media to criticize Rihanna, accusing her of disrespecting Islam by using the sacred text in a sexualized context, some have noted that Rihanna had used “Doom” in a previous fashion show.

‘Arabs not having it’

In a statement on Tuesday, the singer and fashion designer apologized via Instagram stories for using the hadith.

The statement read: “I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our savage x Fenty show.

“I would more importantly like to apologize to you for this honest, yet careless mistake. We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and I’m incredibly disheartened by this.

“I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible.

“Moving forward we will make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Thank you for your forgiveness and understanding, Rih.”

However, many Arab took to the platform to express their rejection of her apology, some even described it as ridiculous, and that she will not be forgiven for her offense to the Islamic religion, while others demanded the boycott of her songs and her global brand Fenty.

This is not the first time for Rihanna to be accused of insensitivity towards Islam. In 2013, she was asked to leave a mosque in Abu Dhabi after posing for "inappropriate pictures".