The younger brother of supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid, Anwar, revealed he went on a pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, in observation of Ramadan.
The 24-year-old ex-boyfriend of Dua Lipa, posted a number of snaps to his Instagram on Saturday from his journey to the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad in Saudi Arabia.
‘Umrah with my real brothers!!! Will under God. Eternally grateful for these moments. Now back home,’ he captioned the photos.
His father Mohamed Hadid, 75 — who is a Palestinian Muslim — proudly commented on his son’s post, writing, ‘My son with his tribesmen of believers.’
Meanwhile Anwar’s mother, former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and Dutch model Yolanda Hadid, 60 — who divorced the real estate developer in 2000 — simply left a black heart emoji.
The younger brother of supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid, Anwar, revealed he went on a pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, in observation of Ramadan
The 24-year-old ex-boyfriend of Dua Lipa, posted a number of snaps from his journey to the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad to his Instagram on Saturday
In one snap he appeared to be wearing an open white shirt that showed off his torso and tattoos. While in others he wore a more traditional light blue Islamic tunic.
In two of the photos he had his hands raised with his palms up, in a prayer pose.
Ramadan’s 27th night – called Laylat Al Qadr, or the Night of Power in English – is believed to be the holiest evening in the Islamic calendar. It marks the moment that Muslims believe the Quran was sent to earth from heaven, and when the first verses of the holy book were revealed to the world by the prophet Mohammed.
To mark the occasion that falls within Ramadan’s final ten days, worshippers from around the world gather at the Islamic world’s holiest site – Mecca – to pray and reflect.
During Ramadan, observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five ‘pillars’ of Islam – in addition to faith, prayer, charity and pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage pillar says that every Muslin, who is healthy and can afford the journey, must visit Mecca at least once during their life to mark Hajj – the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that this year falls in July. Muslims believe the Kaaba – at the centre of Mecca – is the house that Abraham built for God.
In 2022, Anwar’s older sister Bella, 27, opened up about her ‘sadness’ at being denied the opportunity to grow up in ‘Muslim culture’ with her Palestinian father, saying she was ‘extracted’ from that side of her family when her mother moved her to California following her parents’ divorce.
‘Umrah with my real brothers!!! Will under God. Eternally grateful for these moments. Now back home,’ he captioned the photos
Anwar was joined by a number of friends on the trip. In a few snaps he wore a traditional light blue Islamic tunic
His father Mohamed Hadid , 75 — who is a Palestinian Muslim — proudly commented on his son’s post, writing, ‘My son with his tribesmen of believers’
Meanwhile Anwar’s mother, former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid , 60 — who divorced the real estate developer in 2000 — simply left a black heart emoji
Anwar famously dated singer Dua Lipa, 28. Their two-year relationship came to an end in 2021
She was born in Washington, D.C., where she spent the first four years of her life growing up around relatives from her Palestinian side.
But after her parents split when Bella was four, she and her siblings – Gigi and Anwar – relocated to Santa Barbara, California, with their mother.
Speaking to GQ, the half-Palestinian star explained that she yearned for a chance to explore that side of her history after moving to the West coast.
She said she would have loved to have studied and practiced the religion as a child, but ‘wasn’t given that’ opportunity.
Bella added that was often the only Arab girl in her class at school, which resulted in her being regularly subjected to racist bullying and left her feeling ‘sad and lonely.’
‘I was with my Palestinian side [of the family in D.C.]’, she said. ‘And I got extracted when we moved to California.
‘I would have loved to grow up and be with my dad every day and studying and really being able to practice, just in general being able to live in a Muslim culture, but I wasn’t given that.’
All three Hadid siblings have been open about their pro-Palestinian views and support of the country amid its war with Israel.
In 2022, his sister Bella, 27, opened up about her ‘sadness’ at being denied the opportunity to grow up in ‘Muslim culture’ with her Palestinian father, following their parents’ divorce; (L-R) Bella, Yolanda, Gigi and Mohamed seen in 2016
After their parents split Bella, Gigi and Anwar moved out of Washington, D.C. and relocated to Santa Barbara, California, with their mother; seen in 2017
Back in May 2021, Bella attended a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City.
Meanwhile their father recently called president Joe Biden a ‘Zionist war criminal’ who will be ‘hunted down like the Nazis.’
‘This is Biden’s war on the Palestinian people. He will be in the court with the rest of the Zionist Criminals. We will hunt them down like they did the Nazis,’ Mohamed wrote earlier this month – in his latest scathing post against Israel and the US.
He has been a fierce critic of the western world’s support of Israel following Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks against the Jewish state.
In a different message, the millionaire wrote: ‘we don’t need to ask for a ceasefire. We are indigenous to the land. We demand an end to the occupation and an end to colonialism.’
Hadid has previously stepped in to defend his model daughters, who are outspoken about their support for Palestine.
‘My kids always have followed their intuition when it comes to human torture and human nature – what happens to humans on earth. From the disaster in Turkey to the famine in Africa and homelessness in Southeast Asia, they have been involved in these things, building schools for UNICEF and so on.
All three Hadid siblings have been open about their pro-Palestinian views and support of the country amid its war with Israel; Bella seen attending a pro-Palestinian protest in 2021
Not too long ago Gigi sparked outrage with her Instagram story falsely portraying Palestinian terrorist Ahmed Manasra as a ‘child prisoner of war’
After receiving a backlash against her post, Gigi apologized for her ‘mistake,’ which she said was careless
‘It’s always been a humanitarian issue in their blood, nothing to do with being Palestinian,’ he said.
Meanwhile not too long ago Gigi sparked outrage with her Instagram story labeling Ahmed Manasra a ‘child prisoner of war.’ In 2013, Manasra – then 12 – went on a stabbing rampage in Jerusalem.
In her apology note, Hadid wrote: ‘It is important to me to share real stories about the hardships that Palestinians have endured and continue to endure, but this weekend I shared something that I did not fact check or think deeply about prior to reposting.’
‘Unfortunately, I used the wrong example to make that point, and I regret that.’