Beauty Contests

Submitted by Sigmund (United States), May 17, 2010 at 21:02

When someone want to deride a selection process that appears totally arbitrary and subjective, it is common to state "This is just a beauty contest." So why should we be surprised that a beauty contest "is just a beauty contest"?

There a myriads of such contests---virtually every campus has one. So I would have to do some serious statistics to be sure that the number of Muslim winners is "surprisingly" high. But if so, such "affirmative action" has not been mandated by government or institutional fiat. This has been the choice of local individuals. Perhaps such winners are testimony to the fact that Americans really do like diversity and inclusiveness. The fact that Anisah Rasheed can win in a Hajib and evening gown is a real "only in America" statement. But even more than that, it appears that she is a highly capable as well as attractive young woman. There is an article on the web about her running her own business at age 14. It also appears that she is now in the business world. I think this is what we should hope for---Muslims coming to America and adopting American values while maintaining their own traditions blended into American traditions.

Different individuals do this differently. Some of the other winners may have departed from the strict standards of Islamic modesty. I have no idea what this means in the terms of their religion. Are Muslim women who enter a swimsuit competition in danger of retribution? I hope not.

Overall, I look at the Muslim "beauty queen" phenomenon as a good thing.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".