Cairo: A famous US belly dancer in Egypt has triggered an uproar for publishing photos of herself taken in front of a major mosque in Cairo, in the second such incident in the country in a few months.
The dance performer and instructor, known by the stage name Shahrzad, posted on Instagram the photos showing her wearing a colourful dress with a slit in the front outside the famed Mohammed Ali Mosque, part of the Saladin Citadel in historic Cairo.
The images were posted with a comment from the dancer reading: “Beautiful evening at the Salah El Din Citadel. I will never lose my awe and excitement of being able to live in a place with so much history.”
The pictures drew angry comments, with detractors telling the dancer it was inappropriate to take such photos in front of the mosque.
There has been no comment either from the dancer or authorities.
Earlier this year, Russian belly dancer Ekaterina Andreeva, known as Johara or “a jewel” in Arabic, sparked an outcry after she was seen in photos in the courtyard of a mosque in the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada.
Belly dance has for decades been popular with Egyptians.
However, in recent years, the genre has been frowned upon in the country with several clerics deeming it unIslamic. Several foreigners have dominated the belly dance in the country amid a drop in the number of Egyptian performers.
