Saudi Singer gets arrested for Dabbing

CAIRO – 11 August 2017: Saudi Arabian singer Abdallah Al Shaharani has been arrested for performing the popular 'Dabbing' dance move. The incident occurred on Monday, when Shaharani was hosting a concert in the city of Taif and, after encouraging the audience to clap along, performed the "offensive" move in the heat of the moment as the crowd cheered.

Dabbing is a dance move which originated from the American hip-hop scene in 2010s and became viral, popping up in Youtube videos and 'meme' images online. It was banned by the 'Saudi Interior Ministry's National Commission for Combating Drugs' due to the move's supposed connection to drugs such as marijuana.

Shaharani issued a public apology on twitter the day after, shortly before his arrest:

السلام عليكم .. اقدم أشد اعتذاري لحكومتنا الرشيدة وجمهوري العزيز على الحركة
(العفوية الغير مقصوده ) في مهرجان الطائف
تقبلوا اعتذاري ..

— عبدالله الشهراني (@Shaharani1A) August 6, 2017

His arrest was controversial, with Saudis divided on whether he deserved punishment for potentially encouraging drug usage, or if it was just a harmless move.