Egyptian belly dancer Dina has been forbidden by Saudi authorities to set foot in Saudi Arabia refusing to grant her passage to complete the fifth pillar of Islam Hajj. The Saudi embassy in Cairo had gone back on their previous decision to allow the dancer passage saying that her presence in the holy land would be considered a big disgrace especially due to the big possibility of her returning to her profession after Hajj.
According to the London based Al Quds Al Arabi, Dina fought the decision of banning her from the holy pilgrimage saying that every Muslim should have the opportunity to undergo Hajj and added that God accepts everyone’s penance. The dancer expressed great disappointment adding that God is forgiving and merciful unlike those who make the decisions to forbid people from walking in the right path.
Official reiterated that many dancers like Dina have had the chance to go to Hajj but as soon as they returned they did not refrain from their profession and continued dancing making their pilgrimage go to total loss.
Some say that Dina’s prevention from getting passage to Hajj was meant in order to keep her in the profession of dancing which is one of the greatest assets Egypt holds. It was said that officials were afraid that Hajj might have the positive impact on the dancing her leading her to wear the Islamic headdress which would mean a loss for the tourism sector that relies heavily on belly dancing performances to attract tourists into the country.
Dina had previously decided to accompany her mother to Saudi Arabia to complete the fifth pillar of Islam Hajj. She decided that Haj would be her only option to runaway from all the controversial and scandalous issues she is currently involved in.
Dina's decision had caused many confusion among many people as to the reason behind her insisting on completing Hajj. Some feel that the dancer wanted to use Hajj as an excuse to cover-up for her disgrace and unrespectable character after her indecent scandal of pornographic films found at her ex-husband's apartment Hussam Abu El Fateh. Others feel that there is a slight chance that Dina wanted going to Hajj to pay penance for her sins and would have returned a changed woman.
Many believe that the dancer's Hajj would not be like those true believers who undergo the pilgrimage to ask for forgiveness from God and return devoted individual to God and Islam. Critics say that it would have been the same as it always is with actors,dancers, and singer who just go to Hajj for the sake of saying they did and return unchanged.
Dina has recently denied all rumors of her fleeing Egypt and going off to Paris after a scandal was revealed of her involvement in pornographic movies with businessman Hussam Abdul Fatih, whom she was married to in secret and is currently serving jail sentence for different charges. – Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
