Dressed in headscarves and judged partly on their knowledge of the Koran, 18 finalists took part in a beauty contest with a difference in Indonesia on Friday – one exclusively for Muslims, and seen as a riposte to Western beauty pageants.
With a doctor and a computer scientist among their number, the final contenders in the World Muslimah Award paraded in glittering dresses against the backdrop of world-renowned ancient temples for the contest in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country. But they were being judged not only their appearance but also on how well they could recite verses from the Koran and their views on Islam in the modern world.
"We want to see that they understand everything about the Islamic way of life – from what they eat, what they wear, how they live their lives," said Jameyah Sheriff, one of the organisers.
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Miss Muslimah World crowned
Congratulations to Fatma Ben Guefrache, crowned Miss Muslimah World (“Miss Islam”) in Indonesia (the world’s most populous Muslim country) over the weekend, in the Ummah’s answer to Miss Universe and other beauty contests. There was no bikini competition, but the purported “computer scientist” from Tunisia wowed the crowd nonetheless with her words.
There was intense competition for the title, which carried a prize of a gold dinar and a trip to Mecca.
"May almighty Allah help me in my mission and free Palestine. Please, please free Palestine and the Syrian people," Fatma said with tears in her eyes.
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Muslim Miss Universe
A beauty pageant for hijab-clad Muslim women who can recite the holy Qur’an in Arabic and participate in the welfare of their society has been held in West Jakarta to choose Muslims’ ‘Miss Universe’.
“It’s the first online Islamic beauty contest in the world,’’ Eka Shanty, executive director of the nonprofit Indonesia Islamic Fashion Consortium, which organized the event, told The Jakarta Globe. “In the Miss Universe contests, the candidates parade their bodies in revealing dresses,” Eka added.
“But in this contest, they’re all covered. Not an inch of skin shows, except for their faces and hands.”
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World Muslimah Awards
Finalists of the 2014 World Muslimah Awards, left to right, Siti Fathimah Junyanti, Primadhita Rahma and Elis Sholihah of Indonesia, Tarannum Tasmine of Bangladesh and Miss Muslimah 2013 Obabiyi Aishah Ajobola (R) pose for a photograph during a tour at the Borobudur temple complex, Indonesia’s ancient Buddhist temple built between the 8th and 9th century in Magelang, Central Java on Nov. 17, 2014. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)
Indonesia hosted the 4th Muslim Beauty Pageant called World Muslimah Awards.
About 25 finalists from around the world compete in the final round of the World Muslimah Awards, exclusively for Muslim women in Yogyakarta on Nov. 13-21.
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Indonesia Hosts Muslim Miss World
Women donning modest dresses and Islamic veils will compete on Friday, November 21, in an international beauty pageant for Muslim women, challenging western perceptions about beauty contests.
"We want to see that they understand everything about the Islamic way of life -- from what they eat, what they wear, how they live their lives," Jameyah Sheriff, one of the organizers, told Agence France Presse (AFP).
Contesting in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, women are set to parade in glittering dresses against the backdrop of world-renowned ancient temples.
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Miss Muslimah
The 18 women participating in this year’s Muslimah pageant will wear gowns and makeup and million-dollar smiles. But it’s their poise, intelligence and piety that judges will be watching when they take to the stage tonight.
The women, from as far away as the United States to as close as Jakarta, are participants in the 4th World Muslimah Award, a Muslim beauty pageant where headscarves feature over swimsuits and talent competitions are replaced by speeches on what it means to be a good Muslim. “We don’t look at it as a pageant, we look at it as an award to give to one lady so she can inspire others,” said Jamiyah Sheriff, secretary-general of the World Muslimah Foundation, which is sponsoring the event.
The pageant’s website displays bios of the 25 finalists with life quotes, videos of their social activities and stories about when and why they started wearing the hijab. Organizers say it is the most international pageant yet, with 18 countries represented, including the Netherlands, India, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Germany, and the U.S. Eight of the finalists are from host Indonesia, home to the world’s largest population of Muslims.
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Newly-crowned Miss Islam calls to 'free Palestine'
18 contestants reached the final round in the Miss World Muslimah competition, the Muslim answer to the West's beauty contests. They paraded in glittering dresses and headscarves in the ceremony, which took place in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world.
The winner was Fatma Ben Guefrache, a 25-year-old Tunisian computer scientist. She won a gold watch, a gold dinar, and a visit to Mecca.
"May almighty Allah help me in my mission and free Palestine. Please, please free Palestine and the Syrian people," Fatma said with tears in her eyes.
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Miss World Muslimah 2013
Nigerian Muslim community has been buzzing with excitement after a young student was named Muslimah Miss World 2013, a global beauty pageant designed for Muslim women as a counterweight to the criticized though popular Miss World beauty pageant.
“We congratulate Sister [Obabiyi] Aishah Ajibola of the University of Lagos for emerging the winner of the world Muslimah contest,” Prof Ishaq Lakin Akintola, who teaches Islamic studies at the Lagos State University, told onIslam.net.
“We align with the contest in view of the fact that the criteria were not indecent exposure and provocative postures. The contestants were tested in the areas of recitation of the Glorious Qur'an, Islamic historiography, Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic current affairs.
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