Malaysia mosque bans tourists after ‘dance’ goes viral

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian mosque has banned tourists after a video of two female visitors in skimpy outfits dancing in front of the Muslim holy site went viral online.

The pair, of East Asian appearance and believed to be foreigners, were filmed doing the dance in skimpy shorts and tops exposing their midriffs on a wall outside the main mosque in the city of Kota Kinabalu, a popular site for visitors and tour groups. Residents and local Muslim groups were incensed by the risque moves outside the holy site on Borneo island, which is renowned for its huge blue and gold dome and ornate minarets.

An outraged onlooker can be heard in the video saying: "Why don´t they just fall off the wall?" Mosque chairman Jamal Sakaran at the weekend slammed "the unacceptable behaviour by foreign tourists" and announced a temporary halt to any tourists visiting the mosque in Sabah state, adding the move was to preserve the sanctity of Islam. The nationality of the women involved was not clear.