Miss Muslim Competition


Brains not Body Criteria for Tatarstan "Miss Muslim"


"You can be a Muslim and still do whatever you want as long as it is
moral and respectable," said Sadiqova.

By Damir Ahmed, IOL Correspondent

MOSCOW , January 21, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) - Morality and impressive
knowledge of Islam and other subjects were the basic criteria for
choosing Dilar Sadiqova as "Miss Muslim" in the eastern European country
of Tatarstan.

"I decided to take part in the competition to convey the message that
you can be a Muslim and still do whatever you want as long as it is
moral and respectable," Sadiqova told reporters after her acceptance
speech.

"Thus, non-Muslims can have an undistorted vision of our religion,"
added the 17-year-old high school student, who wish to be a school
teacher.

There was no room in the competition for girls in swimsuits like the
traditional beauty pageants, but modestly-dressed and hijab-donned girls
in demure smiles, the organizers told IslamOnline.net.

Brains and religiosity set the tone for the unprecedented contest in
Tatarstan, where Muslims make up 60 percent of the country's four
million population.

The competition included Qur'an memorization and recitation tests, as
well as a set of questions, testing cultural mettle of the 56
contesters.

They also took cooking and sewing tests for more points.

Only eight girls, aged 15-19, made it to the finals of the cut-throat
competition.

The ceremony was held at the Celebrations Hall of the Grand Mosque in
the capital city of Kazan . The audience were all females.

Encouraging Hijab

Saida Abukofa, the head of the jury, said the competition aims to
encourage more Muslim girls who do not wear hijab to take on the Islamic
dress code.

"They see their Muslim peers who wear hijab as beautiful, well-educated
and religious," she added.

"We want to show that beauty has nothing to do with nudity and
obscenity."

Under Islam, beauty contests in which women's `awrah (parts of the body
which should not be exposed in front of others) is uncovered, are
prohibited.

Muslim scholars have called on Muslim countries to organize a "Miss
Morality" competition to offset the increasing interest by Muslim
nations in Western-styled beauty contests



Through,

Nizar.

........................................................................
...................