12 bizarre Arab news stories from 2016

A lot has happened this year, and some of it has left us scratching our heads. Here's a look at 12 of the most bizarre news stories from the Arab world in 2016. 

Some will make you laugh ... and others will simply confuse you.

After gaming for seven years, a PlayStation user living in Saudi Arabia named Jihad Khalid Almofadda was barred from using his real name on the gaming network in June. The reason? He played under the username iJihad ... which Sony found "offensive."

Almofadda rallied online support after he posted about the bizarre decision on Reddit. After a frustrating back and forth, Almofadda's account was finally restored with a new username. 

But his campaign was costly. Almofadda said his friends were deleted and he lost social features and his trophies.

In the raging heat of Saudi Arabia's summer, YouTube channel SH67AT released a video of a lizard running into the shade, hilariously showing just how bad the kingdom's heat can be.

Posted on July 18, the video garnered more than 3 million views in just two days. 

The video is literally just a lizard running at full speed and then collapsing in the desert shade. But hey, watch it for yourself and try not to LOL.

In March, the Emirati singer launched her own reality TV show: "The Queen." The prize? The winner becomes Ahlam's "friend."

Social media users mocked and criticized the show for demeaning the participants. They also criticized Ahlam's immense vanity.

The show was canceled just two days after it aired. Dubai TV, which aired the show, said the decision was made at the request of the viewers.

"I am not arrogant. I've been like this all my life. God gave me the prestige of royals, what can I do. It's against my will. I love you."

Saudi Arabia’s national TV  aired a video featuring Khaled Al-Saqaby, a doctor that specializes in teaching husbands the “right” way to beat their wives.

The video is believed to have aired in early February. Saqaby draws on verses of the Quran to justify his arguments.

In the video he said that sometimes the cause of beating is the woman’s fault. He made sure to say that living in equality is a “grave problem.”

So much nope! We can't even ...

After a two and a half year deadlock, Lebanon parliament voted to elect long-time political leader Michel Aoun president at the end of October. But some politicians had other suggestions... 

An unnamed MP voted for Lebanese-Serbian Myriam Klink, a provocative model/singer, in Lebanon's presidential elections Monday. She is well-known for her music video, "Klink Revolution" where she criticizes Lebanon's reigning political class while brandishing a machine gun in a graveyard. 

The vote was disqualified. The reason? She belongs to the wrong sect. Klink is registered as a Greek Orthodox Christian, but Lebanon's unwritten National Pact of 1943 stipulates that the president should be a Maronite Christian. What a shame, really. 

The US Secretary of State John Kerry paid a visit to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in September, but all people wanted to talk about was this bodyguard.

"Mobile with camera? No camera," the bodyguard said, blocking Kerry before he entered the room with Sisi. It took Kerry a couple of seconds to make sense of the awkward encounter before shaking his head and making his way.

Of course, Egyptians jumped on the story with a good does of humor, making the video go viral.

In a move that left hundreds of music fans disappointed, Jordanian authorities announced a ban on Lebanese indie band Mashrou' Leila ’s concert, which was scheduled to be held in Amman’s Roman amphitheater on April 29.

Mashrou' Leila's frontman Hamed Sinno is half Jordanian.  

"We’re disappointed to see that this kind of reasoning is starting to take over the Middle East. It’s disappointing to see how adamantly regional governments are trying to curtail the spread of dissent into popular culture. It’s also quite empowering. If anything, we’ve been reminded, yet again, of just how much music can actually change," Sinno told StepFeed at the time.

The news was especially shocking because the band has performed in Amman previously. After a lot of social media outrage and criticism of the decision, the kingdom lifted the ban. But by then, it was too late for the concert to go on.

With the iPhone 7 Plus in his hands, Ukranian tech vlogger TechRax arrived to the 148th floor of Burj Khalifa. He wasn't there to snap photos of Dubai from his new phone. He simply tossed it oh-so casually to the ground below.

Yep, that's right. Standing at the building's observation deck (555 meters high), the vlogger dropped his iPhone ... just cause.

The video does not show the iPhone after the fall. It was obliterated to the point he could no longer track it, he says in the video documenting this earth-shattering (or just iPhone shattering really) event.

And of course, the video went viral.

You probably know him as Abu Sin (a reference to his single big tooth) and you've probably seen or at least heard of his outrageous YouNow videos.

The Saudi teen was arrested in September for "unethical behavior" following a series of public video chats with an American vlogger, Christina Crockett. He faces up to three years in prison although he has been released on bail.

He first shared the videos on the live streaming site YouNow, and they have since been uploaded to Youtube.

A Saudi lawyer told a local Saudi newspaper the videos "breach the country’s interpretation of Sharia law and internet regulations, meaning Abu Sin could face up to three years in prison."

Australia's Mufti Mostafa Rashid was attacked with a shoe by Egyptian lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh on a talk show in October. The reason? Differing opinions about the hijab.

Rashid said that hijab isn't mandatory in Islam, arguing that it is a cultural construct, not a religious edict.

"You're an apostate! You're an infidel," shouted Wahsh. 

"You're mentally ill! You need a mental hospital!" the mufti yelled back as he got to his feet.

Wahsh then took off his shoe and beats the sheikh dressed in religious garb repeatedly. 

But the Sheikh didn't back down. He tried to pin him against the wall as Wahsh (interestingly, his name in Arabic means monster) continues to whack him with the shoe. The stand-off was finally broken up by the TV crew.

In October and November, everyone started talking about American celebrity Lindsay Lohan's bizarre new accent. Although a lot of different groups claimed it, Arabs new right away where they had heard it before!

Lohan has said that she is studying both Arabic and the Quran. She confirmed this after she was seen carrying the Quran, spurring uproar on the Interwebs. Some are speculating that she's already converted to Islam. 

Others are chalking this up to a "Turkish conspiracy" and/or the underhanded dealings of the Illuminati (see below). 

A Moroccan state television channel thought it was "helping" victims of domestic violence, by encouraging them to cover it up. Appearing on a segment on the daily program Sabahiyat on Channel 2M, makeup artist Lilia Mouline taught women how to cover up the black and blue bruises from a beating.

“We hope these beauty tips will help you carry on with your daily life”, Mouline said. "Make sure to use loose powder to fix the makeup so if you have to work throughout the day, the bruises don't show."

Ironically, the segment aired two days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. And of course, outrage ensued eventually causing the channel to issue a half-hearted apology.