The beauty pageant, a Western import to the Muslim world, has recently received some heat from "concerned Muslims" outraged by the seeming lack of morals that these venues offer. Three of the most controversial Muslim pageant contestants in recent memory is Nadine Chandrawinata from Indonesia who is half German, Nedim Hasanbegovic from Norway who was the first male Muslim crowned Mr. Gay Norway, and Hammasa Kohistani, an Afghani born in Uzbekistan and crowned Miss England.
However, their titles have caused a stir in their respective Muslim communities. Fortunately, for Nedim and Hammasa, living in the West, their critics have little sway in pressing charges of vice against them.
But the German-born Nadine from Jakarta faced a different dilemma last year when she wore a two-piece bathing suit at the Miss Universe 2006 pageant photo shoot held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. She resides in Indonesia, home to 220 million people, of which 85% are Muslim, though the government is secular and Indonesians have moderate views on Islam and the public sphere, the nation has a few vocal Islamists. Her participation in the pageant was closely watched and followed in the Indonesian press.
She was blasted not only by male critics but female critics, including the Indonesian parliamentarian Latifah Iskandar, who was quoted as saying:
"I’m sad that there are still Indonesians like that, at this time we're concerned about the issue of pornography. It’s very inappropriate."
An influential and conservative group in Indonesia public life, went even further in their criticism towards Nadine Chandrawinata, this group is the Majelis Ulama Indonesia.
However, the Islamic Defenders Front, contacted local police authorities to report that Nadine Chandrawinata was in violation of the Indonesian penal code. The law referred to is edict 02/U/1984, which forbids beauty pageants if they are deemed contrary to the community's morals and religious values.
Luckily, Nadine escaped potential imprisonment, but she did not fare well in the pageant, which was a great disappointment in Indonesia, in a country where the Miss Universe pageant is taken very seriously. Her participation was a matter of national pride.
Salam Alaicum, greetings from Spain.
I considered beauty pageants ridiculous before coming back to Islam, although I don' think we should pay a lot of attention to this kind of movements. In countries were there no was any previous contest like this, people's will be watching, liking or disliking, just for the novelty.
Now in Europe we are watching new "real beauty pageants" with tall, small and fatty beautiful girls, some of them proud muslims.
Islam is bigger than fashions, anyway.
Wish all the evil of the world was this picture... :)
All my prays are for The One.
A handful of Muslim majority countries do send female representatives to compete in these pageants.
I understand the feminist argument against these events and even some Muslim arguments against these events, however, we Muslims should not impose our will on other Muslims.
Islam should be a personal relationship with your Creator, not a coercive means of denying other people their autonomy. We are given free will and choice, our actions should only be judged by God and not be others, who are also guilty of human frailties.
Are you a Spanish revert to Islam? Or did you simply part away from Islam and then came back?
she reminds me of the famine stricken people of Ethiopia. She looks so emaciated; it is sick.
The people on this board are silly.
It is not a crime to be thin, people should be healthy and strong, fit and in shape, not morbidly obese.
Second Islam is all about social control.
Sura 24 ayat 3 tells us to lash the fornicator and fornicateress.
Western morals and values have no place in our societies.
Beauty Pageants are silly because a Man and a Woman should be content with their spouses.
By trying to create an environment where people lust after someone other than their spouse, society is destroying its own fabric and creating unsatisfying marriages.
Decency has gone out the window.