Islam and a swimsuited Miss Indonesia
Islam and a swimsuited Miss Indonesia
Michael Mathes, Agence France-Presse/Phuket, Thailand
Indonesia has not sent a contestant to the Miss Universe pageant in almost a decade, since its last competitor dared to show up at the swimwear event, incurring a ban from then dictator Soeharto.
But Artika Sari Devi, a 25-year-old law graduate and this year's Indonesian ambassador, says that despite vocal opposition from religious groups back home, she believes the world's largest Muslim nation is ready to compete once again.
When she slipped into a swimsuit on a Phuket beach with other contestants last week, Artika knew was stepping into uncharted territory.
The demure beauty-queen was happy to hug the sidelines of a risque seaside dance number featuring all 80 other contestants being filmed for the pageant's final broadcast, all too aware that critics had her in their sights.
Clad in a one-piece swimsuit, far more modest than the skimpy bikinis worn by the other contestants, Artika was upbeat about her participation -- including Thursday's jaunt on the beach. A masters student and a practicing Muslim, she believes things have changed since the 1996 ban.
"I'm so lucky. This is the right time for a young lady from Indonesia to join in this great competition," she told AFP in an interview on Thailand's largest tourist island.
When she parades in front of the judges and an estimated 800 million television viewers on May 31, she knows she will be running the gauntlet of Muslim critics and fierce traditionalists, who say the event goes against both Indonesian culture and Islam.
"The big problem is still the swimsuit competition," she pointed out as she wrapped a towel around her waist. "But today in Indonesia, we can see many people wearing swimsuits at the beach."
When asked if she felt the political winds had shifted to allow her to compete, she was guarded.
"Yes, but I don't want to talk about the opinion of my government, because it's sensitive," she said. "I just appreciate that I'm a citizen who is part of a young generation."
Not everyone back home is behind her. On Friday some 70 protesters from the radical group Front for the Defenders of Islam staged a noisy but peaceful protest outside the Jakarta office of the Miss Indonesia Foundation.
Soleh Munawir Nasution, the group's leader, said Indonesia's involvement in the pageant would "invoke God's wrath and bring new disasters" to the country.
"The foundation has degraded the dignity of Indonesian women," he said.
Pictures of Artika in her swimsuit were on the front page of Indonesian newspapers on Friday, drawing criticism from conservative Muslims.
"We reject her participation because such an event is not compatible with our culture, not to mention religious values," said Syamamah Suratno, head of the women's wing of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Islamic group.
"We should not be judged by our physical appearance. If we want to take part in a competition it should be about brains, intelligence and skills," said the French-educated activist.
While critics have focused on Artika, she is not the only contestant from a Muslim nation, with Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria and Malaysia also among those competing and to have entered the swimwear contest in past years.
But Islam and beauty pageants have a history of conflict. In 2002, the Miss World competition was moved from Nigeria to Britain after riots sparked by an article on the competition left more than 200 people dead.
Tom Kruesopon, chief organizer of Miss Universe in Thailand, acknowledged the sensitivities of Artika's presence but said the pageant was thrilled to have her competing.
"Understanding the religious aspects of Indonesia and knowing how difficult the decision of sending her may have been, I'm certain it was the right thing to do," he said.
"I was a bit skeptical of her participation, knowing there could be a tremendous outcry back home ... but her taking part puts the pageant in the right light."
mlm/pjl/jah AFPLifestyle-Thailand-Indonesia-Universe-beauty-Islam AFP
GetAFP 2.10 -- MAY 25, 2005 09:43:54