YoungstaCPT music video outside mosque removed after backlash

South African rapper YoungstaCPT has seemingly removed a music video filmed outside the Habibia Soofie mosque in Athlone on his social media, following backlash from the local Muslim community.

The mosque said it was seeking legal action to have the video taken down after the rapper shared a snippet of it on his social media, saying no permission was sought to film the video.

In the 51 second video doing the rounds on social media the artist is seen rapping his song “Alhamdulilah” in front of the place of worship and “posing as an Imam”.

The mosque in a statement termed the video a “direct insult to the Islamic faith”, adding that their board of trustees “will pursue legal measures” to have it removed.

“The Habibia Soofie Masjid Cape Town is aware of the circulating video of musician, Riyadh Roberts, aka ‘YoungstaCPT’ where he is depicted rapping in front of the Habibia Soofie Masjid Cape Town. No permission was sought from the Board of Trustees, nor was any permission given for this filming to take place. This video and the act performed by Roberts are not sanctioned by the Habibia Soofie Masjid Cape Town.

“The House of Allah is a sacred space in Islam, and its sanctity must always be upheld and protected. The act of posing as an Imam and rapping in front of a masjid, and at the same time, distorting the praise of Allah, undermines this sanctity and is a direct insult to the House of Allah and to this religion of Islam. The Board of Trustees will pursue legal measures to have the circulating videos removed from social media and to prevent the full music video from being released,“ the mosque said.

The video which was posted on Facebook and TikTok has since been removed.

The rapper’s management did not respond to questions about the video by time of publication.

Cape Times