A folklore dancing troupe was banned from performing their dance routine at the opening of fourth annual Al Marbud festival in Basra, Iraq, due to local government officials claiming the dance was too liberal.

In response, the group's female dancers came out for the performance dressed in the typical Islamic veil. The group's trainer, Jabar Belal, told the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat that the group chose a patriotic song about Iraq for their number. "We chose that song to please the festival organizers along with dance routines that will not upset them," Belal said.

Al Hayat added that the orders for the higab, or Islamic veil, was employed after a member of the local government saw a rehearsal on television with the female dancers wearing their normal attire. He called what they were wearing "indecent."