Islamic Critics Blast Beyonce On Eve Of Egypt Show

SARAH EL DEEB

CAIRO (AP) — As Egypt gears for pop diva Beyonce Knowles' first performance in North Africa, Islamic conservatives are branding her show an "insolent sex party" that threatens the Muslim nation's "social peace and stability."

On giant posters plastered across the Egyptian capital advertising the Friday evening concert, Beyonce sports a revealing, flame-covered outfit and grips a set of motorcycle handlebars extending from her hips — a sharp contrast to Cairo streets, where most women wear the traditional Muslim headscarves.

TV ads promoting the show, part of Beyonce's "I Am ..." world tour, have run on Egyptian and Arab satellite stations. The tour, which also took Beyonce to the United Arab Emirates last week, had grossed $53.5 million as of October, according to Billboard magazine.

But in Egypt, Islamic lawmakers and their supporters have waged campaigns on social networking Web sites, accusing the government of encouraging debauchery and calling for the concert's cancellation.

"Why are you encouraging this insolent sex party?" lawmaker Hamdi Hassan from the opposition Muslim Brotherhood wrote in a letter to the government. "You are accused of disturbing social peace and stability, encouraging vice and debauchery."