Video of woman singing in 'niqab' full-face veil causes outrage in Saudi Arabia

A woman filmed singing while wearing a niqab full face veil has caused outrage in Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah Al-Sadhan, a Saudi actor, tweeted a video of the woman's performance on Tuesday and expressed his support for her. 

"I just say may God protect you. Finding work and making money is difficult. Keep going, your voice is beautiful regardless of the melody," he said.

But some strict Muslims consider singing and music to be religiously forbidden, especially for women, and other social media users voiced strong disapproval.

"O Lord, may you open for her a door to a livelihood other than singing," one man wrote.

Another user said: "I say fear Allah. A halal [religiously permissible] livelihood is what is rich and joyful."

A third asked: "Why does she wear the niqab if she's started down this path? If she took it off, it would be better than offending it."

Some other social media users, however, came to the singer's defence.

ما اقول الا الله يحفظك وبس .
البحث عن الرزق صعب استمري صوتك جميل بغض النظر عن المقامات 🌹 pic.twitter.com/1LgVx32b5C

— عبدالله السدحان (@Abdulsadhan) August 16, 2022

"She's an artist. Her voice is pleasing, and her performance is precise," tweeted Abdel-Rahman Al-Naser, head of the arts section at the Al-Riyadh newspaper.

"The niqab did not prevent her from getting her talent out there. She has conviction in the face covering and she also has conviction in her talent."

Al-Naser added that the video is quite old and had done the rounds over a year earlier.

"Well done – may God bless her. She is beautiful and her voice is wonderful," another user wrote.

"The most important thing is her commitment to hijab. May God protect and help her, O Lord, and continue sustaining her."

Al-Sadhan responded to the backlash his post attracted by sharing a satirical video which pan-Arab news website Arabi 21 said came from a project he was involved in.

"This is my response to everyone who objects to the previous tweet," he said.