Influencer Douha Laribi apologizes offending Our Lady of Lebanon

Lebanese and Christians in the Arab world were angered after a comment by Tunisian internet personality Douha Laribi during her visit to Our Lady of Lebanon, known in Arabic as “Saydet Harissa”.

A video posted by Douha Laribi ignited anger after she was seen laughing and misspelling Saydet Harissa, [Our Lady of Lebanon]. She said, “Today we are going to .. ‘Arisa’.” Someone in the background was seen correcting her, saying, “Harissa”.

Despite being corrected while on the ride to visit Our Lady of Lebanon, she also pretended to misspell the name again in another video while she was doing an “outfit check” with other people.

Douha Laribi apologizes after offensive comment:

After the heavy backlash by Christians in Lebanon, the Tunisian internet personality issued an apology to Christians and Lebanese.

She wrote on her Instagram story, “I want to send a message to the Lebanese people I love and cherish. With all due respect to all religions, especially Christianity, I’m here to apologize for the way I spoke. I didn’t realize that a certain word could be interpreted in a negative way, especially in front of a shrine. This was my first time visiting Harissa, and I have the utmost respect for this holy place.”

She added, “It was my mistake; I should have learned how to pronounce the name correctly before speaking. But God is forgiving, and I acknowledge my error. I take your advice to heart and will learn to pronounce the word correctly so I don’t find myself in a similar situation again. With all due respect and appreciation to you all.”