Beirut nightclub The Gärten shut down by the government after DJ plays Quran verses

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  • The club has released a statement apologizing for any offense and contesting the shutdown.
  • Beirut nightclub The Gärten shut down by the government after DJ plays Quran verses image
  • Lebanese club The Gärten has been ordered to close after video of Acid Pauli playing Quran verses emerged online. Governor Judge Ziad Chebib handed down the order, saying The Gärten is "lacking proper registration and promoting material that offends religious beliefs," Mixmag reports. The club, which has recently hosted the likes of Dixon and Jackmaster, has contested the prevailing account of what happened. In a lengthy statement, representatives of The Gärten say "the video that was circulated was shot five weeks ago and not during the Holy month of Ramadan." (An RA listing confirms Acid Pauli played April 14th, a month before Ramadan's start on May 15th.) They then explain the Quran verse was being played off the radio: "The audio extract was not of the Quran being mixed with music. It was an extract taken from the radio. The audio clearly shows the switch between local radio stations, which happened to have one of the stations featuring that extract of someone reciting a verse from the Quran. That verse went on for only a few seconds only and was not repeated again throughout the night." The statement notes that Acid Pauli is German and did not understand the language or potential offense. He immediately apologized when informed of the gaffe. The club's team also says their managing partner is a Muslim, and the "organization consists of people coming from all religious backgrounds and would never intentionally allow the desecration of any belief," apologizing for any unintentional offense as well as all those affected by the backlash. The statement says the club has been supporting more than 200 families for the last seven years through employment. Read the full statement. Due to the sensitive nature of this story, the comments on this news piece are locked. For more information, please refer to our community guidelines.
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