https://youtube.com/watch?v=01gsOHE-u7s
First Lady Michelle Obama refused to wear a head scarf during a visit with her husband to pay respects to the late Saudi Arabian monarch King Abdullah, earning the scorn of kingdom royalty assembled to greet the American delegation and the ire of the Saudi Twitterverse.
President Obama flew into Riyadh on Tuesday for Abdullah’s funeral, shaking hands with assembled Saudi royalty including the new king, Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.
But the president’s visit to the kingdom was overshadowed by Michelle Obama’s attire. Although she wore pants and a conservative, long-sleeved jacket, the First Lady refused the customary hair covering — required wearing for all female Saudi citizens appearing in public.
Although a few dignitaries, including the new king, did shake Mrs. Obama’s hand — breaking strictly-held Islamic law forbidding men from touching unrelated women — video provided by The Daily Mail shows a long line of Saudi royalty streaming by the First Lady without acknowledging her presence. Her tight-lipped grimace illustrated her displeasure at the snub.
The Washington Post reports that Michelle Obama’s uncovered head sparked a backlash on Twitter, with more than 1,500 tweets being sent out under the Arabic hashtags “Michelle Obama unveiled” and “Michelle Obama immodest.” Some users noted that the First Lady did wear a head scarf while visiting the Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia in 2010.
Previous First Lady Laura Bush donned a head scarf during her 2007 visit to Saudi Arabia, after being presented the covering as a gift by a woman in the Saudi delegation.