Muslimah Beauty, a beauty pageant exclusively for Muslim Girls organized at Jakarta has received severe criticism from different corners of world over its validity.
The Contest which was won by a Nigerian Woman named Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola was held at Jakarta Mall in Indonesian Capital on September 18. There were 20 participants from countries like Indonesia, Iran, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Brunei. They all wore elaborately embroidered dresses and stilettos apart from Hijab (Headscarves), which was mandatory. The contestants were judged on the basis of how well they recited Koranic verses and their views on Islam in the modern world.
Participants at World Muslimah Beauty 2013 Contest
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.
However the contest faced several criticism in the online world. Several Tweets condemned such a beauty contests and called it un-islamic.
“A true Muslimah does not give her smile too easily to her strangers. Her beauty is for her husband to see, not the world”, read one Tweet.
“Dear Muslimah, your beauty is for your husband to see, not the world.. Protect your modesty #JUMMATMUBARAK #Islamic Reminder”, another girl tweeted.
“…And do no display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance…” Rugayyah Deenlady Baderinwa wrote on Facebook, citing the Koran verse Q33:33.
The contest was first held in 2011 under a different name and was only open to Indonesians. However from this year it allowed foreigners.
It was founded by Eka Shanti, a former TV news anchor who lost her job because she refused to remove her headscarf while seen on national television. Shanti says the contest was “Islam’s answer to Miss World beauty pageant”.
The On-going Miss World 2013 Beauty pageant in Indonesia has received farce criticism from radicals. Ultimately the pageant had to be shifted from Jakarta to Bali. The Finale of Miss World is going to be on September 28.