A Nigerian woman tearfully
prayed and recited Koranic verses as she won a
beauty pageant exclusively for Muslim women in
the Indonesian capital Wednesday, a riposte to
the Miss World contest that has sparked hardline
anger. The 20 finalists, who were all required to wear
headscarves, put on a glittering show for the final
of Muslimah World, strolling up and down a
catwalk in elaborately embroidered dresses and
stilettos.
The newly crowned the
Muslimah World 2013 Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (C)
of Nigeria speaks to audience during the
Muslimah World competition in Jakarta on
September 18, 2013. The finale of a beauty
pageant exclusively for Muslim women was set to take place in the Indonesian capital on September
18, in a riposte to the Miss World contest in Bali
that has drawn fierce opposition from Islamic
radicals. AFP PHOTO But the contestants from six countries were
covered from head to foot, and as well as beauty
they were judged on how well they recited
Koranic verses and their views on Islam in the
modern world. After a show in front of an audience of mainly
religious scholars and devout Muslims, a panel of
judges picked Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola from Nigeria
as the winner. While the event in a Jakarta shopping mall paled
in comparison to Miss World on the resort island
of Bali, in which scores of contestants are
competing, Ajibola was nevertheless
overwhelmed. Upon hearing her name, the 21-year-old knelt
down and prayed, then wept as she recited a
Koranic verse. She said it was “thanks to almighty Allah” that
she had won the contest. She received 25 million
rupiah ($2,200) and trips to Mecca and India as
prizes. Ajibola told AFP before the final that the event
“was not really about competition”. “We’re just trying to show the world that Islam is
beautiful,” she said. Organisers said the pageant challenged the idea
of beauty put forward by the British-run Miss
World pageant, and also showed that opposition
to the event could be expressed non-violently. Eka Shanti, who founded the pageant three years
ago after losing her job as a TV news anchor for
refusing to remove her headscarf, bills the contest
as “Islam’s answer to Miss World”. “This year we deliberately held our event just
before the Miss World final to show that there are
alternative role models for Muslim women,” she
told AFP. “But it’s about more than Miss World. Muslim
women are increasingly working in the
entertainment industry in a sexually explicit way,
and they become role models, which is a
concern.” Hosted by Dewi Sandra, an Indonesian actress and
pop star who recently hung up her racy dresses
for a headscarf, the pageant featured both Muslim
and pop music performances, including one
about modesty, a trait the judges sought in the
winner. The pageant, which also featured bright
Indonesian Islamic designer wear, is a starkly
different way of protesting Miss World than the
approach taken by Islamic radicals. Snowballing protest movement Thousands have taken to the streets in Indonesia
in recent weeks to protest Miss World,
denouncing the contest as “pornography” and
burning effigies of the organisers. Despite a pledge by Miss World organisers to drop
the famous bikini round, radical anger was not
appeased and the protest movement snowballed. The government eventually bowed to pressure
and ordered the whole pageant be moved to the
Hindu-majority island of Bali, where it opened on
September 8. Later rounds and the September 28 final were to
be held in and around Jakarta, where there is
considerable hardline influence. But there are still fears that extremists may target
the event — the US, British and Australian
embassies in Jakarta have warned their nationals
in recent days of the potential for radical attacks. More than 500 contestants competed in online
rounds to get to the Muslimah World final in
Indonesia, one of which involved the contenders
comparing stories of how they came to wear the
headscarf. The contest was first held in 2011 under a
different name and was only open to
Indonesians, Shanti said, but after the media
began comparing it to Miss World, it was
rebranded as a Muslim alternative to the world-
famous pageant. Because of its popularity, organisers accepted
foreign contestants this year for the first time,
with Iran, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Nigeria
and Indonesia represented.
prayed and recited Koranic verses as she won a
beauty pageant exclusively for Muslim women in
the Indonesian capital Wednesday, a riposte to
the Miss World contest that has sparked hardline
anger. The 20 finalists, who were all required to wear
headscarves, put on a glittering show for the final
of Muslimah World, strolling up and down a
catwalk in elaborately embroidered dresses and
stilettos.
The newly crowned the
Muslimah World 2013 Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (C)
of Nigeria speaks to audience during the
Muslimah World competition in Jakarta on
September 18, 2013. The finale of a beauty
pageant exclusively for Muslim women was set to take place in the Indonesian capital on September
18, in a riposte to the Miss World contest in Bali
that has drawn fierce opposition from Islamic
radicals. AFP PHOTO But the contestants from six countries were
covered from head to foot, and as well as beauty
they were judged on how well they recited
Koranic verses and their views on Islam in the
modern world. After a show in front of an audience of mainly
religious scholars and devout Muslims, a panel of
judges picked Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola from Nigeria
as the winner. While the event in a Jakarta shopping mall paled
in comparison to Miss World on the resort island
of Bali, in which scores of contestants are
competing, Ajibola was nevertheless
overwhelmed. Upon hearing her name, the 21-year-old knelt
down and prayed, then wept as she recited a
Koranic verse. She said it was “thanks to almighty Allah” that
she had won the contest. She received 25 million
rupiah ($2,200) and trips to Mecca and India as
prizes. Ajibola told AFP before the final that the event
“was not really about competition”. “We’re just trying to show the world that Islam is
beautiful,” she said. Organisers said the pageant challenged the idea
of beauty put forward by the British-run Miss
World pageant, and also showed that opposition
to the event could be expressed non-violently. Eka Shanti, who founded the pageant three years
ago after losing her job as a TV news anchor for
refusing to remove her headscarf, bills the contest
as “Islam’s answer to Miss World”. “This year we deliberately held our event just
before the Miss World final to show that there are
alternative role models for Muslim women,” she
told AFP. “But it’s about more than Miss World. Muslim
women are increasingly working in the
entertainment industry in a sexually explicit way,
and they become role models, which is a
concern.” Hosted by Dewi Sandra, an Indonesian actress and
pop star who recently hung up her racy dresses
for a headscarf, the pageant featured both Muslim
and pop music performances, including one
about modesty, a trait the judges sought in the
winner. The pageant, which also featured bright
Indonesian Islamic designer wear, is a starkly
different way of protesting Miss World than the
approach taken by Islamic radicals. Snowballing protest movement Thousands have taken to the streets in Indonesia
in recent weeks to protest Miss World,
denouncing the contest as “pornography” and
burning effigies of the organisers. Despite a pledge by Miss World organisers to drop
the famous bikini round, radical anger was not
appeased and the protest movement snowballed. The government eventually bowed to pressure
and ordered the whole pageant be moved to the
Hindu-majority island of Bali, where it opened on
September 8. Later rounds and the September 28 final were to
be held in and around Jakarta, where there is
considerable hardline influence. But there are still fears that extremists may target
the event — the US, British and Australian
embassies in Jakarta have warned their nationals
in recent days of the potential for radical attacks. More than 500 contestants competed in online
rounds to get to the Muslimah World final in
Indonesia, one of which involved the contenders
comparing stories of how they came to wear the
headscarf. The contest was first held in 2011 under a
different name and was only open to
Indonesians, Shanti said, but after the media
began comparing it to Miss World, it was
rebranded as a Muslim alternative to the world-
famous pageant. Because of its popularity, organisers accepted
foreign contestants this year for the first time,
with Iran, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Nigeria
and Indonesia represented.
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