PA security forces detained DJ Sama Abdul Hadi and several others at the party in Nabi Musa, the place where Moses was allegedly buried, in the West Bank between Jerusalem and Jericho on Saturday.
Videos of the event were posted on social media, sparking anger from local Palestinians. This footage, along with reports of partygoers drinking on the holy site and drinking drugs, prompted hundreds of people to come to the party to break it. Many were also angry with the PA for allowing it to continue.
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said an investigation was underway and that those responsible for the incident would be brought to justice.
Hadi Mashal, a lawyer representing Abdul Hadi, told CNN that she was charged with violating Article 275 of the Palestinian Penal Code, which criminalizes the ‘desecration’ of sacred sites or symbols with the intent to establish a religion or specific insult group.
‘Is this a violation of the article so far? All I can tell you is; I do not see how, ‘said Mashal. “But the investigation is not over yet. We hope it will be completed in a few days.”
The father of the DJ, Saad Abdul Hadi, told CNN he was very upset about the detention of his daughter, and rejected the allegations that she had desecrated a sacred site, saying the party had in another part of the complex took place.
“It’s not true that people were drunk or taking drugs,” he said. “It’s also not true that she played techno music at the mosque – in fact no one entered the mosque. It was all held in the bazaar, where visitors come to shop and stay in the guest house.”
Saad Abdul Hadi said his daughter was singled out by the PA to hide the embarrassment over the public reaction to the party.
“It seems that the Palestinian Authority did not know how to control the anger of the street. Therefore, they used Sama as a scapegoat for something that the street saw as a mistake.”
Saad Abdul Hadi added that his daughter had acted on a number of Palestinian historical sites on behalf of a production company in Paris and had received permission from the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which is responsible for the bazaar in Nabi Musa, other than the mosque of the site operated by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
CNN has obtained a letter from the Ministry of Tourism in which DJ Sama and the production company give permission to film at Nabi Musa, provided they ‘comply with the necessary safety measures’ and ‘respect the site’s religious and cultural importance and privacy’.
According to her lawyer, Abdul Hadi is also charged with violating the Covid-19 proceedings.
CNN contacted the Ministry of Tourism for comment. The Prime Minister of PA, Shtayyeh, is also the Minister of Religious Affairs.
But prominent religious figures quickly denounced the techno party, indicating how high the episode had become.
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the PA’s supreme judge and adviser to his president on religious affairs and Islamic relations, said in a tweet: ‘I feel disgusted and angry about what happened in the Nabi Musa mosque … and I know still not whoever is responsible for this sin, but whoever is responsible, should receive a terrifying fine corresponding to the cruelty of what happened, for the mosque is the house of God, and its holiness is the holiness of our religion. ‘
In an interview with Palestinian radio station NAS Radio, Hussam Abu-Alrub, the deputy minister of religious affairs, stated that it was his ministry that was responsible for the mosque, and yet no permission was taken to hold any event in it.
“The act committed was unacceptable and beyond all our religious principles,” Abu-Alrub added. “We at the Ministry of Awqaf will not remain silent and will follow up the investigation.”
DJ Sama is one of the most popular DJs in the region, and one of the first Palestinian women to gain a great reputation in the electronic music community.
Her lawyer urged people to look into the facts. “If she had not obtained a license, the event would not have taken place. Period,” Mashal said. “Therefore, who is responsible for not thinking about what the reaction would be? I do not know. Is it Sama’s fault? It has yet to be seen.”
Zeena Saifi reports from Amman, Jordan. Abeer Salman and Andrew Carey reported from Jerusalem.