Bieber Muslim Prayer: Did Singer Stop Concert to Observe Religion?
Justin Bieber impressed a slew of his fans in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday night when he decided to pause for the Muslim call to prayer.
In the Muslim faith, a call to prayer is announced five times a day. The tradition, referred to as the "azan," is mandatory prayer time that offers those of Muslim faith a brief lesson in the religion. The call occurred twice on Thursday night, while Bieber was performing a sold out show at the Technical University. Bieber stopped the concert during both prayer calls, fans said on his Twitter account.
In response, the singer received an outpouring of responses, thanking him for respecting their faith and tradition. One fan suggested that not even Arab artists pause when the call for prayer is made.
"Arab artists DON'T stop there shows...Go Justin. Bieber Stops Turkey Concert 2 Honor Muslim Prayer Call," the fan tweeted on Friday.
"Justin showed tonight in Istanbul/Turkey how much he respects the muslim beliebers. BEST IDOL EVER," a second fan said.
One boy, who claimed that he did not even listen to Bieber, also shared his respect.
"I'm not a Justin Bieber fan but as a Muslim, he totally earns my respect," the boy wrote.
But a second report, which ran in Turkey and was translated by Foreign Policy, claims that Bieber's leaving the stage had nothing to do with the Muslim call to prayer.
"Fans were throwing toys and scarves at the beloved singer as a show of appreciation, but the teen magnet decided he wanted no more of it, and abandoned the stage," the report claimed. "He stayed backstage and refused to come out until an announcement was made in Turkish, informing fans that the show would not go on until the toys stopped coming in."
The star eventually returned to the stage.
