Mennel Ibtissem is a French-Syrian singer, who became an internet sensation after her performance in 2018, with Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah, on The Voice France.

Recently, however, she faced much criticism, following her decision to no longer wear the hijab, the dress of Islamic believers, which Mennel wore in the style of a turban.

The reaction of the people was:

"Oh, she gave up!", Says the singer.

Mennel says she does not want "people to judge her just for her appearance."

"I want to be judged for my talent and character. I said to myself, okay, enough with this image. "

She thinks people saw her as a "flag of Islam" and her decision would upset people because they identified the singer with the hijab.

"According to people, if I have hijab, it means that I am a Muslim and if I am like that, I should behave in this way and not in another way," she said.

Many girls were disappointed because they found themselves in me and being a girl with turban and Islamic religion, especially in France is not easy, so when I removed it, these girls felt abandoned. They thought I was no longer like them and that I had left them.

"Just because I'm not like you, does not mean I can not support you," she said.

Mennel points out that all the negative comments had a significant impact on her.

"It was terrible, sometimes I tried to erase them and there were times when I wanted to quit music, but music is my passion, my mission in life."

Source: BBC News