The Kaaba dance performance of the Riyadh season causes outrage

Widespread on the Internet footage from a A structure similar to the Kaaba with dancers circling around him, caused an uproar among Arab social media users, sparking outrage at the alleged mockery of Islam’s holiest site.

Video taken at one of the discoveries Saudi Arabia The Riyadh Season festival features a cube-shaped structure with bright lights and images, with dancers performing around it.

Observers compared the scenes to Muslim rituals performed near the Kaaba, the stone building at the center of Mecca’s Grand Mosque that worshipers circumambulate.

“With this, Saudi Arabia disgraced Islam. 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,” wrote one user of the social network.

“Are there still (religious) scholars in Saudi Arabia? Are there still Muslims?” wrote another.

The video also drew condemnation from the official representative of Yemen’s Houthi movement in Sana’a, which fired at the kingdom’s rulers.

This year’s entertainment season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia had dancers, singers and models performing in front of a black box-cube that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Holy Kaaba. pic.twitter.com/oPuQmNHAEz

— Dilly Hussain (@DillyHussain88) November 16, 2024

Houthi Politburo member Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti told X that the show’s similarities to Muslim religious rituals indicated that the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was behind the act.

According to local media, Saudi authorities have denied the presence of any idols or models around the Kaaba during the season in Riyadh.

Anti-rumour authority confirmed on social networks that there are no models or replicas of the Kaaba in the kingdom, and that the cube-like structure was actually four mirrors attached to the ceiling, with images, models and idols digitally manipulated to appear on them.

In a statement, authorities added that “it’s interesting that there are many cube structures that are well known around the world, such as the magnificent Apple store in New York and the Berlin Cube in Germany, but it never occurs to anyone that it looks like the Kaaba, as they say today about the Kingdom”.

The Riyadh Season Festival is held annually, hosting athletes and artists from around the world. It’s part of Saudi Arabia’s drive to become a sports and entertainment hub and diversify its economy.

Many of the liberal reforms introduced by Crown Prince Mohammed have sparked controversy among conservatives, who see the kingdom and its rulers as guardians of Islam’s two holiest sites.

At the beginning of this year Saudi Arabia started work on Mukaaba large golden cube structure in riyadh that could become the world’s tallest building amid criticism that it looks like Kaaba holy place in Mecca.

The $50 billion project is to be 400 meters high, 400 meters long and 400 meters wide.