Selena Gomez showed off her ankle in a mosque during her recent trip to Abu Dhabi, which has led to some criticism from the Muslim community. Cody Simpson and Kendall Jenner were on hand with the rest of Gomez's entourage. They were seen laughing and smiling in another picture posted to Instagram. It is considered a sign of disrespect by Muslims to show off a bare ankle and laugh or smile in a mosque, Billboard notes.
Gomez deleted the picture of her exposed ankle, but the group shot is still on Instagram. It was taken at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Check it out below.
The photos have sparked a conversation on respecting beliefs and insensitivity toward other cultures.
"Yeah I'm Muslim, and selena I love you so much but you may want to open your wrists at the mosque," one comment reads. "Photos interesting. I'm Muslim and I respect every religion. After saw this photo I feel so bad. Everyone has their own religious if not everyone is obliged to respect your religion. I'm Muslim and I respect christian to otherwise you're ignorant and disrespectful!!"
Gomez and her camp have yet to respond to the photos.
The pop star dropped a new single, "The Heart Wants What It Wants," in November. The song was inspired by her relationship with ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. It is off her greatest hits collection For You.
"When I was on stage and thinking of... I feel like I know him though, and I know his heart. I know what he wouldn't do to hurt me. But I didn't realize feeling confident and feeling so great about myself, and then it just be completely shattered by one thing... by something so stupid," she says in the song's video. "But then you make me feel so crazy and make me feel like it's my fault. I was in pain."
A photo posted by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:20am PST
