Islamic Party Slams P.A For Sponsoring Miss Palestine In The West Bank

Thursday December 10, 2009 22:16

by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Miss Palestine - FIle imageshack.us

File; Miss Palestine - imageshack

The “Liberation Party” voiced sharp criticism of the Palestinian Authority (P.A) for sponsoring “Palestine Beauty Pageant” Contest in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

“Miss Palestine” is to be held for the first time starting on Thursday December 10 and ending on December 26.

The Islamic party said that “the honor of Muslim women is not for trade or pleasure”, and accused the Palestinian Authority of being shameless and of aiming at spreading corruption and obscenity among the Palestinian people.

The party also said that such festivals were created by “corrupt western cultures that treat the women as products to be hold and bought”, and added that Palestinian women are mothers of sisters of courageous fighters and martyrs.

The party added that the Palestinian Authority should not sponsor foreign activities that reflect western traditions that are unacceptable to the Palestinian people. It also considered the contest as an attempt to bury the values of Islam.

It demanded the P.A to cancel the contest without any delays and to stop “spreading immoral principles among the Palestinian people”.

The party appealed the Muslims to “conduct their duty by countering these immoral activities that target the honor of women and violate the teachings of Islam”.

58 young Palestinian women are participating in the event, among them 26 Arab women from Israel while the rest are from the West Bank.

The winner, who would be called Miss Palestine Pageant, will be chosen by a jury that also includes representatives of the Culture Minister and Information Ministry.

She will be awarded a 10-day trip to Turkey and $2700 cash. The event will not include swimsuit contest as this issue is culturally sensitive.