UAE, Saudi, Palestine, Algeria and more: Arab influencers give Don't Rush challenge a Middle Eastern twist

The latest viral music challenge has been given some Middle Eastern flair. Since landing on social media app TikTok in March, the Don't Rush beauty challenge has become the latest online music craze, with hundreds of videos of groups of people using the song to create dazzling cosmetic transformations to the slinky beats of Don't Rush by British grime artists Young T and Bugsey. The latest batch to accept the challenge are a slew of public personalities from the Arab world. On Monday April 20, a video was uploaded featuring 10 people, hailing from the UAE to Morocco, who all transformed from casual wear to traditional threads. This was boosted by Don't Rush being remixed by Kimo Basha with snippets of traditional music from each respective country. The aim here is not to dazzle, but to showcase the rich diversity of the Arab world, extending from fashion to music. Here is how the video went down.... Kicking things off is the host of MBC's Yalla Banat Show, who showcased her Palestinian heritage complete with a family performance of the dabke. Up next was the Saudi vlogger, who got out of his funky get up to don a black kandora and pour a cup of strong gahwa. Accepting the next round in this online relay was the social media personality, who celebrated his heritage by playing the darbuka. The popular radio presenter wore a glittering emerald blue djellaba, capped off with a red fez. The multimedia content creator wore a ghutra and a black and white wzaar as he shimmied along to a Yemeni folk dance. The film director celebrated her heritage by wearing her blue modern karakou dress and pouring herself a glass of tea from an ornate pot. The blogger and make-up artist was up next, and wore a vibrant thobe dress, all while holding a cup of thick red Sudanese tea. Bringing glamour to the proceedings, the fashion blogger wore a glittering black hashimi dress. Then it was the our time to shine, with the Emirati television reporter Azza Al Mughairy in a colourful dar'ah dress, shuffling to an Emirati folk tune, all the while holding her smiling son. The musical baton reached its final destination with another Saudi personality, rapper Molham spitting a few lines before the video ends. Also no viral challenge comes complete without it being extended to even more people. Haifa Bessiso invited more groups of friends to head online and celebrate their heritage. “Dear world, this is the #dontrushchallenge with an Arabian twist,” she posted on Instagram, calling on other countries to "do the next challenge.” ______________ Read more: What is the #DontRushChallenge? This fun beauty experiment is bringing people in isolation together online Why are people getting dressed up to take out the trash in Australia? Forget fashion rules, this is how people are actually dressing to work from home ______________

UAE, Saudi, Palestine, Algeria and more: Arab influencers give Don't Rush challenge a Middle Eastern twist

The video showcases the rich diversity of the Arab world, extending from fashion to music