Here she comes: Saudi's Miss Beautiful Morals By DONNA ABU-NASR RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Sukaina al-Zayer is an unlikely beauty queen hopeful. She covers her face and body in black robes and an Islamic veil, so no one can tell what she looks like. She also admits she's a little on the plump side. But at Saudi Arabia's only beauty pageant, the judges don't care about a perfect figure or face. What they're looking for in the quest for "Miss Beautiful Morals" is the contestant who shows the most devotion and respect for her parents. "The idea of the pageant is to measure the contestants' commitment to Islamic morals... It's an alternative to the calls for decadence in the other beauty contests that only take into account a woman's body and looks," said pageant founder Khadra al-Mubarak. "The winner won't necessarily be pretty," she added. "We care about the beauty of the soul and the morals." So after the pageant opens Saturday, the nearly 200 contestants will spend the next 10 weeks attending classes and being quizzed on themes including "Discovering your inner strength," "The making of leaders" and "Mom, paradise is at your feet" — a saying attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad to underline that respect for parents is among the faith's most important tenets. Pageant hopefuls will also spend a day at a country house with their mothers, where they will be observed by female judges and graded on how they interact with their mothers, al-Mubarak said. Since the pageant is not televised and no men are involved, contestants can take off the veils and black figure-hiding abayas they always wear in public. The Miss Beautiful Morals pageant is the latest example of conservative Muslims co-opting Western-style formats to spread their message in the face of the onslaught of foreign influences flooding the region through the Internet and satellite television. A newly created Islamic music channel owned by an Egyptian businessman aired an "American Idol"-style contest for religious-themed singers this month. And several Muslim preachers have become talk-show celebrities by adopting an informal, almost Oprah-like television style, in contrast to the solemn clerics who traditionally appear in the media. Now in its second year, the number of pageant contestants has nearly tripled from the 75 women who participated in 2008. The pageant is open to women between 15 and 25. The winner and two runners up will be announced in July, with the queen taking home $2,600 and other prizes. The runners up get $1,300 each. Last year's winner, Zahra al-Shurafa, said the contest gives an incentive to young women and teens to show more consideration toward their parents. "I tell this year's contestants that winning is not important," said al-Shurafa, a 21-year-old English major. "What is important is obeying your parents." There are few beauty pageants in the largely conservative Arab world. The most dazzling is in Lebanon, the region's most liberal country, where contestants appear on TV in one-piece swimsuits and glamorous evening gowns and answer questions that test their confidence and general knowledge. There are no such displays in ultra-strict Saudi Arabia, where until Miss Beautiful Morals was inaugurated last year, the only pageants were for goats, sheep, camels and other animals, aimed at encouraging livestock breeding. This year's event kicks off Saturday in the mainly Shiite Muslim town of Safwa, and mostly draws local Shiite contestants. But it's open to anyone — and this year, 15 Sunni Muslims are participating, al-Mubarak said. "This is a beautiful thing," she added. There have long been tensions between the two sects in the kingdom. Hard-liners in the Sunni majority consider Shiites infidels, and the Shiites often complain of discrimination and greater levels of poverty. Al-Zayer, a 24-year-old international management student, said she signed up because she is the "spitting image" of her mother. "I'm proud of my devotion to my parents," she said. What does she think of Lebanon's beauty contests? "It's a matter of cultural differences," she said. "In Saudi Arabia, they are Islamically unacceptable." Awsaf al-Mislim, another contestant, said if she does not win the crown, she will have won something more important. "I will be proud to show everyone that I competed with the others over my devotion to my parents," the 24-year-old said.
As if it is that perfect that they only go for those who has beautiful morals... must be looks too!! although they are covered up in black and veil :S
The Miss Beautiful Morals contest is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your get -rotfl How will she look like ... Velma -rotfl
It's sexy not knowing what's behind those black veils, they are trying to make you guess... Know your Islamic laws or be stone...-worship
No wonder that they stone their wives after marriage ... ... they don't have a "no good, return" policy -rotfl
but apparently they can;t take off their veils even when married? so will that be a mystery for the husband to not ever see the wives face ever?-unsure
Actually they can take it off inside their homes, but not in public. Where didn't you heard that from, that's really to the extreme but I won't be surprised if that was true.
well from what i heard about the middle eastern law and islamic laws does not sound very nice at all and some muslims are very exetreme apparently and i heard that some woman actually don;t take their veil infront of their husbands because the husband is too arrogant or the fact he thinks she's ugly and never to reveal her face again.. is the islamic law still allows the multiple wives thing?
In some places, if you can afford it and can support it, you can have as many wives as you want. Some ppl would think it's heaven for men.
^ i don't mind as such about the whole multi-wives situation it just i hate it when men are only doing it for status and doesn't give one dogs bollocks about the wives that he's neglecting coz the guy can get whoever he wants
If they are fanatics,yes,they would wear their veils everywhere(maybe they will remove it at home),my Muslim friends don't wear a veil
