Internationally acclaimed singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty, famous by the name Rihanna, has apologised to Muslim community for using Islamic verses during a lingerie fashion show. She had recently released a new lingerie collection Savage X Fenty. She was widely praised for the show as it promoted the inclusion of men and women of all sizes. However, the show came under heavy criticism for using sacred Islamic verses commonly known as Hadiths. Coucou Chloe produced the track named “Doom” that used the text.
Rihanna why is your attitude so bad and what is this? you insult the hadith, where is your mind? we Muslims are really angry and disappointed by your attitude. Alquran and hadits are the guidance of Muslims why can you do like this? Damn you! @rihanna pic.twitter.com/nCcYKyYKDH
— TEAM KONTRA⛔ (@1485erina) October 5, 2020
The controversy
The show was streamed on Amazon Prime on Friday. It used a song produced by Coucou Chloe in 2017 that used a remix of a Hadith narration about the end of times and judgment day. It is believed that the Hadith is a written record of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Mohammad and his close associated. These texts are considered to be highly sacred to Muslims and often regarded as secondary only to the Quran in terms of authority.
The backlash from Muslim community
Several fans of Rihanna objected to the use of the said song in the show and asked her to apologize to the Muslim community. However, Rihanna has not yet responded to any such demands.
y’all don’t realize how disrespectful it was what Rihanna did. she didn’t use music thats in Arabic or anything. she used a hadith, hadith and arabic songs are two different things, and she used the words of our prophet,that are meant to guide muslims, for her lingerie show…
— ęᴴ🎃(fan account) (@fIrareoutsold) October 4, 2020
i feel like islamaphobia is so normalised to the point where people are calling us dramatic for being mad when our religion gets disrespected? hadith are sacred words of the prophet, they’re used to guide muslims & are second to only the Quran. rihanna should know better.
— kirry🍷MAL DAY | dm limit 💔 (@ZARRYKISSY) October 4, 2020
I’m so upset, i can’t believe you disrespected my religion, the religion of 1.8B people!!!! Please apologize for it and also let the team that worked on it apologize…
— فاطمة✨ (@sinlesssins) October 6, 2020
The followers from the Muslim community are blaming Rihanna for alienating the whole community while her show was supposed to be about the inclusion of everyone.
okay the fact that rihanna’s show was supposed to be a keystone for “inclusion” while she completely alienated the Muslim community by disrespecting a Hadith recitation is the perfect showcase of how fashion brands & the media have never considered us as a part of their audience
— myesha thee stallion (@myeshachou) October 5, 2020
Apology issued by music producer of DOOM
After the backlash, a spokesperson for Coucou Chloe issued an online apology on twitter. She took full responsibility for the fact that she did not research the meaning of the text. She apologized for using the sacred text in the song ‘DOOM.’ “The song was created using samples from Baile Funk tracks I found online. At the time, I was not aware that these samples used text from an Islamic Hadith,” She added.
I take full responsibility for the fact I did not research these words properly and want to thank those of you who have taken the time to explain this to me. We have been in the process of having the song urgently removed from all streaming platforms. 2/2
— COUCOU CHLOE (@coucou_chloe) October 5, 2020
She has promised that song would be removed from all streaming platforms soon.
