Contest Searches For Miss Beautiful Morals

[MystifiedMuslimah]

In Saudi Arabia, where women wear robes and veils, a beauty pageant is beginning that does not seek the best figure or face - but the lady with the best morals.

Contestants battling to become Miss Beautiful Morals win points from judges for showing the most devotion and respect for their parents.

From this weekend, nearly 200 entrants will spend 10 weeks attending classes and being quizzed on such themes as "Discovering your inner strength" and "The making of leaders".

Another lesson - "Mum, paradise is at your feet" - is based on a saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammed.

It is said to mean that respect for parents is among the faith's most important beliefs.

Pageant hopefuls will spend a day at a country house where they will be observed by female judges and graded on how they interact with their mothers.

I tell this year's contestants that winning is not important. What is important is obeying your parents.

al Shurafa, Miss Beautiful Morals 2008

Since the competition is not televised and no men are involved, contestants can take off the veils and black figure-hiding abayas they wear in public.

Pageant founder Khadra al Mubarak said: "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.

"The winner won't necessarily be pretty. We care about the beauty of the soul and the morals," she said.

Zahra al Shurafa, who won the title of Miss Beautiful Morals last year, says the event 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 Ms al Shurafa, a 21-year-old English student. "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.

Until Miss Beautiful Morals was inaugurated last year, the only pageants were for goats, sheep, camels and other animals, aimed at encouraging livestock breeding.