Miss World

The Miss World pageant (not to be confused with Miss Universe) is an international beauty pageant founded in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951.

21st century

Eric Morley passed away as the pageant entered the new century. The century saw its first black African winner, Agbani Darego, in 2001. In 2002 the competition was slated for Calabar, Cross River State of Nigeria. This choice was controversial, as a northern Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal, was awaiting death by stoning for adultery under Sharia law there, but Miss World chose to use the publicity surrounding its presence to bring greater global awareness and action to Amina's plight. In the year leading up the finals in Nigeria, several European title holders lobbied their governments and the EU parliament to support Amina's cause. A ThisDay (Lagos, Nigeria) newspaper editorial suggesting that Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, would probably have chosen one of his wives from among the contestants had he been alive to see it, resulted in riots that started on November 22 in which over 200 people were killed. Because of these riots, the 2002 pageant was moved to London. A fatwa urging the beheading of the woman who wrote the offending words, Isioma Daniel, was issued in Nigeria, but was declared null and void by the relevant Saudi Arabian authorities. The eventual winner of the pageant was Azra Akin of Turkey, the first predominantly Muslim country to hold the title since Egypt in 1954. She was followed by Ireland's Rosanna Davison, daughter of the "Lady in Red" singer Chris de Burgh. In 2004 the crown was decided for the first time by a global vote, resuling in the victory of Peru's Maria Julia Mantilla and the return of the title to Latin America after nine years.

Related Topics:
Agbani Darego - 2002 - Calabar - Cross River - Nigeria - Amina Lawal - Stoning - Adultery - Sharia - Lagos - Muhammad - Islam - November 22 - London - Fatwa - Rosanna Davison - Chris de Burgh

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