Miss World Contest Ditches Bikini Competition for "Conservative Beach Sarong" Smackdown!

Via Mary Katherine Ham at the indispensable Hot Air comes news of how the Miss World beauty contest is getting jiggy with…"conservative beach sarongs."

It turns out that the competition, which is being held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September, felt the heat from Islamic preachers:

"That contest is just an excuse to show women's body parts that should remain covered," said Mukri Aji, a prominent cleric from West Java province's MUI branch. "It's against Islamic teachings."

Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, a hardline Islamic group, said it planned to stage a protest and called for the competition to be moved elsewhere.

Ham notes:

This will be the first time Miss World contestants have not donned bikinis since 1950, but methinks we won't hear much about it from the "turn back the clock" crowd, which thinks a birth control copay is tantamount to the ignominy of a dowry negotiation. I was never a pageant participant and have certain reservations about them, but it's not a victory for the ladies if these decisions come at the puritanical, patriarchal, and occasionally violent whims of a bunch of dudes. Lady Gaga canceled a concert in Indonesia last year amid threats from the Islamist community, which dubbed her a "devil's messenger" in "bra and panties," which should totally have become a single by now! J-Lo covered herself and all her dancers before a Jakarta performance.

Read her whole entry, which includes a link to the newest GoRemy video, "Just Dance (Saudi Version). Take a look below:

Comments

[Zeb]

"That contest is just an excuse to show women's body parts that should remain covered,"

And? I fail to see the problem.

[Spartacus]

He's half right.

[RBS]

Why even have the thing in Indonesia in the first place o any other country with a large, hardline islamist population?

[generic Brand]

That was my thought. And if the objections were made, why not search for a new venue instead of switching the entire format of the event. Unless the complaints were made a week before the competition or something, in which case, STFU (to the Islamic crybabies).

[Mike M.]

Har har har, those stupid unhip primitive backwards fanatical Muslim throwbacks are so darn funny. Up to the point where they detonate a nail bomb in your face or cut your head off at least.

[invisible furry hand]

bollocks, I posted this in AM Links yesterday

[The Late P Brooks]

But who will win the hot dog eating contest?

[Silly ol' Bear]

First, don't be so stupid to have a beauty pageant in a Muslim country, rather asinine. Second, I really don't care what Muslims think, Muhammad was a wanker anyway.

[DesigNate]

Was she saying that the only people against forced birth control coverage will be all for the Miss World contestants covering up?

[Nikki says you caddie well]

I think she's saying that feminists should be angry that religious men are telling women they should be covered up, but they won't.

[UnCivilServant]

They've got grinding gears in their ideology between the 'misogynist' pagent and the 'patriarchical' religious authorities. It's not going to produce much but smoke and aparks untill the cognitive dissonance override kicks in and they eject the whole event from memory.

[WTF]

This should really help out the ratings for this year's pageant.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, a hardline Islamic group, said it planned to stage a protest...

...with suicide bombers.

[AlexInCT]

DIRKA DIRKA!

[eyeroller]

And now a contrarian point of view.

If people think the contest is offensive, why shouldn't they protest? Why shouldn't they call for it to be moved or canceled? Does everyone have to agree with Ham's views of what's nice and naughty?

And she mentions violence several times, but I didn't see any evidence that anyone was calling for violence. Oh, but Muslim men are bad violent people! Whenever they protest they're stupid because they just want to blow someone up!

[CE]

Those contestants in 1951 looked healthy, unlike most of the modern contests where they starve themselves for months first.