4 Muslim women dropped from beauty pageant in Malaysia

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Kuala Lumpur: Four Muslim women have been dropped from the Miss Malaysia World 2013 pageant due to a fatwa declaring such events as a sin. Organiser Anna Lim said the decision was made following a statement by Federal Territories mufti Wan Zahidi Wan Teh who had opposed the four finalists' participation.
"The competition will go on as usual and we are very excited about presenting the best beauty pageant for our non-Muslim finalists," Lim told 'Mingguan Malaysia'.
Wan Zahidi had said Muslim women could not participate in or organise any beauty pageants as it had been declared haram or a sin. He said the fatwa had been issued on February 8, 1996, under the Administration of Islamic Laws (FT) Act 1993.
One of the four women, former Asia New Face Model Search 2012 champion, said they were only asked to wear sports or suitable attire for Muslim girls during the competition held in Bali, Indonesia, instead of swim suits or bikinis.