Hardline Muslims protest against Miss World beauty pageant

   
Indonesian Muslims have staged a demonstration in the country's capital to try to stop the holding of the Miss World pageant this weekend on the resort island of Bali.

The Islamic Society Forum (Forum Umat Islam) staged a rally in Jakarta on Tuesday which included more than 200 members of several conservative Muslim groups.

Protesters gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle before marching to the MNC Tower, the building that houses the office of the local organizer.                       Protest leader Muhammad Al-Khathath of the Forum Umat Islam said the Miss World pageant exploited women and did "not fit with the culture and morals of Indonesia."            

The demonstration was peaceful, but protesters shouted "Go to hell Miss World" and called on the government to stop the pageant.        

The building was guarded by 300 police members.                

The protest comes days after the influential Indonesia's Clerics Council called on the government to cancel the event, saying the exposure of skin by women in such a competition violates Islamic teachings.                  

Most Muslims in Indonesia, a secular country of 240 million people and the world's most populous Islamic country, are moderate, but a small ultra-conservative fringe has become more vocal in recent years.                

Miss World contestants meanwhile were starting to arrive to take part in the pageant.                

The opening ceremony takes place on Sunday in Bali, and the final round on September 28 in Sentul, on the outskirts of Jakarta.   


AP