Th AP lets us know that Miss World Entrants Warned:
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Nigeria, host of this year's Miss World pageant, has warned the contest's beauty queens to avoid parts of the country where Shariah, or Islamic law, is enforced, a newspaper reported Sunday.Snort!
Culture and Tourism Minister Boma Bromillow-Jack said organizers were warned to stay away from the dozen Nigerian states that have adopted Shariah after Muslim groups threatened to disrupt the pageant.
"We have told the people (organizers) not to allow the ladies to go to Zamfara and other Shariah states because of the risks involved," the minister told reporters Friday, according to the Vanguard newspaper.
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Muslim groups in Nigeria have denounced the pageant as immoral and said they will prevent it from taking place, but have not threatened any specific action. They are particularly incensed by the swimsuit competition.
Islamic law prescribes harsh punishments such as flogging for Muslim women who expose too much flesh in public, amputations for theft and death sentences for adulterySounds like a slow-motion riot and yet another fine member state of the United Nations. Good choice by the "Miss World" organizers.
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Nigeria applied to host the pageant after a Nigerian, Agbani Darego, was crowned Miss World last year.
The U.S. State Department renewed its warning to U.S. citizens against traveling to Nigeria last week citing violent crime and ongoing ethnic and religious conflicts - some triggered by the introduction of Shariah.
Thousands have died in bloody conflicts across the country since President Olusegun Obasanjo was elected in 1999, ending 16 years of military rule.
