DUBAI: A video that seems to show images of a belly dancer on an LED screen hung over an Egyptian mosque is making the rounds on social media, with users expressing shock, disbelief and outrage.
Footage purporting to show the belly dancer on the screen was shared to Facebook late Sunday night by media outlet Mekameleen TV after it was reportedly filmed by a man outside the mosque which news outlet Youm7 reported to be the Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaytbay mosque complex in Cairo.
The video garnered more than 87,000 views as of Tuesday morning and has triggered a litany of angry and shocked commentary despite the lack of verification regarding the incident.
“This is an insult to (our) religious symbols and Muslims,” one user wrote.
Another commented: “Where are the honorable men of Egypt who protect their religion from this nonsense taking place in the land of Egypt.”
Another said: “Where is the mosque’s imam? Where are its neighbors? I just can’t believe this!”
Disbelief was apparent among other commenters, some of whom thought the video may have been fabricated.
“This video must be fabricated, there’s no way the people who pray in the mosque would have allowed this to happen,” one user commented underneath the video.
Head of the Islamic and Coptic Monuments Department, Saeed Helmy Ezzat, denied the incident in comments made to Youm7.
He said he rushed to the scene after receiving calls about the video but did not find a screen hung above the mosque.
