JAKARTA, May 21, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Indonesians expressed outrage over Indonesia’s first participant in a Miss Universe pageant since former president Suharto imposed a ban in the 1990s on taking part in international beauty contests.

Up to 100 Indonesians staged a rally in the capital city of Jakarta Friday, May 20, to protest the participation, the Jakarta Post reported.

The protesters rallied in front of the headquarters of the cosmetic company, PT Mustika Ratu, which is sponsoring the Indonesian participation.

They called on the company not to “destroy the country’s moral standards” and urged Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ban Indonesian participation in the beauty contest.

The influential Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) further said it may come up with a fatwa, prohibiting Indonesian Muslim women from competing in the pageant in the future, Reuters reported.

“It’s pornography, and for that it’s haram (unlawful),” said Ma’aruf Amin, chief of the MUI’s Fatwa Commission.

“This kind of pageant violates religious values, especially Islam, and Indonesia is known as a religious society, so one should not go into any activities that are not in line with religious values.”

Representing Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Artika Sari Dewi, 25, was crowned Miss Indonesia last year and will be competing for the Miss Universe title in Thailand this week.

She is the first Indonesian woman to participate in the contest since 1996.

Artika poses for a picture after talking to reporters in Bangkok Friday.

Artika, on her part, said she was disappointed at all the fuss over her participation, especially at the swimsuit competition.

“There is the controversy in Jakarta about what the Qur’an says and the newspapers are always discussing this and the swimsuit problem,” Artika, dressed modestly in a white jacket, t-shirt and jeans, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“I respect the point of view, but let’s see if the swimsuit is a big problem. It’s only a small part of the competition,” she added, during a pageant media event in the Thai capital.

“They think that it’s not good to show [ourselves] when we are wearing swimsuits, but actually you can see it everywhere [in Indonesia] — at the swimming pool, on the beach.”

Despite the outrage, photos of Artika frolicking in her one-piece swimsuit in Thailand were splashed across the front pages of many major Indonesian newspapers Friday.

Miss Germany Asli Bayram, who is of Turkish descent, and Miss Turkey Dilek Aksoy are also Muslim. Unlike Artika, who prefers a one-piece swimsuit, Bayram and Aksoy have opted for bikinis for the swimwear competition.

Under Islam, beauty contests in which women’s `awrah (parts of the body which should not be exposed in front of others) is uncovered, are haram.

Muslim scholars have called on Muslim countries to organize a “Miss Morality” competition to offset the increasing interest by Muslim nations in Western-styled beauty contests.

• Beauty Contests in the Eyes of Shari`ah