CONTROVERSIES TRAIL WORLD MUSLIMAH BEAUTY PAGEANT

 – Muslim women, scholars react

– ‘It’s not a beauty pageant’ – friend clarifies

+ Why I went into the contest

Controversies have continued to trail the just concluded World Muslimah 2013 and the emergence of a 21 year old Nigerian, Obabiyi Aisha Ajibola as the winner.

She was declared winner of the controversial contest on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, which has the largest Muslim population in the world.

Aisha, who received prize money of 25 m rupiah ($2, 200) with trips to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia and India, obtained 65 out of 100 votes from orphans, who attended the grand finale that was aired live.

Shortly after the news was broken, aggrieved Muslims, mostly women who believed the organisers have violated the Islamic rule on women went to the social media (Facebook and Twitter) to register their dissatisfaction over what they termed, “madness, foolishness, craziness, and Islamization of madness in the name of World Muslimah Beauty Pageant.”

Also joined in the condemnation were the Muslimah queen’s fellow students at the University of Lagos where she’s currently studying Regional and Urban Planning before she went for the tournament that had 20 participants from across the world, including Bangladesh, Iran, Malaysia and Brunei. She’s in 400 level.

The Amir (President) of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, University of Lagos chapter, Faruq Musadiq described the contest as blasphemy.

According to him, it is a very unfortunate development. “Regardless of the goodness the organizers claim they are trying to achieve with it, the means is totally haram -unlawful, and both the end and the means must be justifiable in Islam. Finally, the Prophet made a very explicit statement when he said: Whoever copys a group is part of them.”

“A muslimah beauty is for her husband to see, not the world” – Muslim women

While many condemned it, only few, however, said there is nothing wrong with the contest except that it’s tagged, Beauty Contest, because, “there is no beauty contest” in Islam.

Speaking, Rashidah Olojo, Balqees Adedeji, amongst the few that see nothing wrong with the contest, said, “It is a good initiative but I don’t support the word “beauty contest” because there is nothing like that in Islam. They should have tagged it, The World Quranic Competition or something else instead of Pageant!”

A muslimah beauty is for her husband to see, not the world, Aisha Zarumi argued. Aminah Adewunmi described it as a sinful act in the sight of Allah, stressing, “It is madness of the highest order. Bidiah (innovation) is spreading everywhere. End time is near and the future of our kids is at stake. It’s a horrible act, very shameful.”

According to Halimah Abdul-Azeez, there is no beauty contest in Islam, no matter the intention. “It is not what you contest for, simply because others are doing it. No, it is not accepted.”

In his submission, Abiodun Subair said, “Do we really have to follow the Christians in everything they do, even when it leads to doom? This is un-Islamical. We are described as the best ummah. So, we are meant to be imitated, not imitating or copying people ignorantly.”

Another post reads, “No matter the intention of the organisers, they have violated Allah’s injunction as stated in Q24: 31. An ideal muslimah must abide strictly to the injunction of Allah and must follow the steps of our predecessors. This is fitnah- tribulation.”

WHAT NIGERIAN SCHOLARS SAY

Islamic activist, Professor Lakin Akintola congratulated the winner and commended the organisers. In a press release forwarded to ENCOMIUM Weekly, Prof. Lakin said, “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.

“The event has also proved beyond reasonable doubt that Islam does not repress its women. Neither does it teach pushing them to the background. The demonstration of high level of exposure to education in various fields by the contestants also point to the fact that Muslim women pursue education and that Islam is not averse to educating the womenfolk.”

The Director of Muslim Rights Islamic Concerns (MURIC) re-affirmed its opposition to beauty contests where the female contestants are scantily, indecently and provocatively dressed as promoting pornography, indecency, crime and immoral behaviour.

He said, “The outcome of the event adds another feather not only to Nigeria’s cap but that of the African continent as a whole. MURIC charges the Nigerian authorities to ensure the enforcement of Allah-given and fundamental rights of the Nigerian Muslim woman. We remind all employers of labour, nurses, bankers, school authorities and all those who discriminate against hijab-wearing women in the country that such practices constitute infringements on the fundamental human rights of Muslim women. We therefore demand that such religious profiling should be discontinued with immediate effect in the interest of peaceful coexistence.”

However, the President of the Muslim Students’ Society (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit, Alhaji Qasim Badrudeen said in an interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly, “We can’t commend such act because it is not part of our religion. That is not part of Islam. Our Niqab (veil) is not for beauty contest. It is for modesty. Hijab is our epitome of honour and should be treated as such. It should not be used for a dog-to-play thing. And we must know that because some people are doing something doesn’t mean that we should do it. Remember what our Prophet said, anyone that behaves like them is one of them.

“It is unfortunate that this is happening in our days. Scholars must rise to speak against this. This never happened during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and it must not be allowed to continue.”

Hajia Fadeelah Odubanjo, the female President of Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit said, “In the first place, we do not support the contest as it does not showcase anything new except that it further brings to pass the prophesy of Muhammad (SAW) that when the Day of Judgment draws nearer, the Muslims will continue to follow the non-Muslims even if they enter the hole of lizard. In an attempt not to feel left out of the things in vogue, and probably not wanting to be tagged as being ‘anti-modernity,’ the organisers came up with this idea of the contest. But unfortunately, they have succeeded in luring the young Musleemah into the new world order of immorality! I can assure you, Nigerians will replicate the contest soon.

“You will recall that the Muslims in Indonesia also protested against it being staged in their country. That tells you that the idea is alien to Islam and cannot be said to be an alternative to the western version as claimed by the organisers. No reasonable Muslim will support this aberration.

“Having said that, the victory of Miss Aisha Ajibolawill has no positive impact whatsoever on young Musleemah. It will rather inculcate in them the idea of showcasing wrongly their natural adornments in the Ajibola-style of hijab. Hijab is not meant to showcase your beauty. It is meant to cover those adornments in obedience to Allah and the protection of their chastity. Ajibola’s victory will not achieve that, I am certain.

There are notable female Muslim personalities across the globe that our sisters can take after in terms of mode of dressing and character. So, like I said, we do not support the contest in whatever way and we urge our sisters to disregard it.”

A popular Ede, Osun State based islamic scholar, Aboo Aamir al-Atharee strongly condemned Muslimah Beauty Pageant, saying it’s a display of the times of ignorance and whoever has any iota of understanding of the Islamic knowledge will know that the concept of Muslimah Beauty pageant is madness, foolishness, craziness, corruption of land, calling to lewdness and obscenity.

“Allah commanded men to lower their gazes from women, and vice-versa. I wonder if the organizers are not putting the men of the world,  its Muslims most especially,  into trouble by bringing some hapless Muslim ladies before the glare of the whole world. May Allah help Eka Ashanti, the Indonesian chief organizer of the contest, to a quick repentance.

“We have never attempted to declare the people involved in the ‘Muslimah Pageant’ as unbelievers. But we strongly believe the ‘Islamized’ pageant is an open sin, misguidance and an act alien to Islam and the Muslims.  We know this may hurt but the truth is better said lest we all perish together.”

He implored others to avoid taking steps that will jeopardise the Islamic morals. He said, “They should always weigh their views before making them open. This latest view of theirs is without doubt at variance with the correct manhaj (sylabus) of Islam. We are sure no reputable scholars of the Deen will support such a misguided feat.”

In his own submission, revered Islamic scholar, Shaykh Dhikrullah Shafi’i said, “First, we must have authentic evidence for anything we want to do in Islam. Our religion is based on proof. We should first ask ourselves what did Allah and His messenger say about it. But if we didn’t see evidence from these two sources, then we resolve to the consensus of the ulamah (Islamic jurists) on that issue.

Speaking further, Shaykh Shafi’i said, “From beginning, the place of a muslimah is home. There are many verses in the Qur’an that established this. For instance, surah Azhab (Chapter 33) is explicit about this. Women are expected to handle the home-front including the children. However, there are cases when it’s allowed for them to go out, such as going to the markets, hospitals and more important, when their husbands have permitted them to work, they are free to work. They must therefore, maintain Islamic code of dressing when outside the home.

“On the issue at hand, the concept of Beauty Contest whether Islamic or not is totally wrong in Islam. Allah has commanded women to conceal their beauty and not reveal it except to her husband. There is evidence for this in surah Nur (Qur’an 24: 31). The organisers might have a good intention but if the act is not carried out in accordance to Allah’s injunction, it’ll not be accepted.”

According to Shafi’i, who is also the mufti of Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO). “The idea of beauty contest is from the West not Islam. Just like the organisers said, ‘A rival contest to retort Miss World Pageant’, this is not allow in Islam because the Prophet (peace be upon Him) say, ‘He who imitates the people of the book is part of them.’”

He, however, warned that he has not passed a verdict, but only clarify the issue based on Islamic injunction on women. He therefore called on Muslims to wait for the final verdict of majmu fiqh al-islamiy.

“Whatever they conclude will be the final. The problem with most of us today is that we rush to pass judgement on issues without adequate knowledge. This is bad,” he concluded.

‘WHY I STAGED MUSLIMAH CONTEST’-  EKA SHANTI

The organiser of the controversial beauty pageant, Eka Shanti said she started the show three years ago after losing her job as a TV news presenter for refusing to remove her headscarf.

We also gathered that the contest is meant for indonesians alone. Shanti decided to make it international this year as a rival contest against Miss World Beauty Pageant, which was also staged in Indonesia.

She said, “We held the pageant days before the Miss World final to show that there are alternative role models for Muslim women.

“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,” she said.

Finalists in World Muslimah were chosen from more than 500 participants who took part in an online selection process.

“We tried as much as possible to differentiate World Muslimah from Miss World that celebrates nudity. We didn’t ask them to wear bikini and all sorts.”

One of the rounds involved contenders comparing stories of how they came to wear the hijab (Muslim headscarf) – a requirement for all those taking part. At the end, a winner emerged.

THE RISING PROFILE OF THE NEW MUSLIMAH QUEEN – WHY SHE PARTICIPATED

The profile of Aisha, the third daughter from a family of five, has been on the rise since she was crowned the most beautiful Muslimah. Aisha, who was unknown before she went for the contest, is now a celebrity. She’s been seen by some as a role model. They believe that Aisha deserves commendation and not condemnation.

In less than a week, her Facebook friends has increased. She has also opened two Facebook fan pages with hundreds of followers who send her congratulatory messages.

All effort to speak with the indigene of Oyo State proved abortive. She didn’t reply our questions before we went to press on Sunday, September 22, 2013. However, we were able to speak with her close friend, Amatullateef Oladejo, a student of University of Ilorin.

According to her, I have just spoken with her. She’s not ready to talk about it because of the misconception, especially from the media.

She said, “I was also verbally attacked by friends when I congratulated her on Facebook, because people felt she went for a beauty pageant. It’s not a beauty pageant. No contest of beauty but rather an intellectual competition for talented people. The competition is tagged, World Muslimah, not beauty pageant. It’s only meant to counter the Miss World Beauty Pageant held in the same country.

“Aisha went into the competition not because she knew it’s a beauty pageant.  She is very good at quranic recitation. She registered online and qualified to contest after her article was adjudged one of the best. She’s very intelligent, well reserved and a gentle girl to the core. I congratulate her because I know she did not go for a beauty pageant, but an intellectual and serious competition.”

 – RASHEED ABUBAKAR