Bold strides by Muslim women this weekend. First Sania Mirza, now Hammasa Kohistani, who was just crown Miss England (thanks, Punjabi Boy!):
Hammasa Kohistani, 18, said she was delighted to have been selected to represent England in the Miss World championships.
The brunette, who speaks six languages including Russian, Persian and French, looked ecstatic as the crown was placed on her head before a cheering crowd in Liverpool’s Olympia Theatre. [link]
Well, the BBC says five languages, but who am I to quibble. The Times of India deluged the poor girl in a typical purple gush:
LONDON: Move over our very own, Miss India. Miss England is on her way to Bollywood, the big time and beckoning stardust, now that a Muslim teenager with central Asian roots and a British accent has been crowned England’s most beautiful woman.
But stepped back for sociological analysis:
Kohistani, who was born in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, after her parents were forced to flee Afghanistan, is being touted in a less-than-overwhelmed Britain as the first Muslim to be crowned Miss England.
With beauty contests increasingly regarded as a politically incorrect and chauvinistic relic of a darker British age of cruising for seaside holiday entertainment, Kohistani’s victory has been kept off the Sunday front pages and the slender television news agenda.
But some commentators have expressed an interest in the social and ethnic change represented by Kohistani’s extraordinary win of the England crown, over and above 38 other peaches-and-cream complexioned ‘real’ English roses. [link]
Of course, this wouldn’t be a story about Islam without controversy somewhere:
Among those Miss Kohistani beat was another Muslim entrant, Sarah Mendly, 23, who was voted Miss Nottingham. Miss Mendly had been among the favourites but her entry caused controversy when Liverpool’s Islamic institute called on her to pull out because contestants are often scantily clad. [link]
If you squint, doesn’t Hammasa look a bit like Julia Roberts?
those sikh fundos are terrible and they’re way more than a passing annyoance. i think they are similiar to fundos anywhere but they’ve just not had time to really get obnoxious
I agree with you Raju they are all tossers.
As long as there is bhangra and whisky they shall not prevail though.
you know i love bhangra and whiskey but i’d like to talk about sikhi too without having to hear their nonsense
Go on the Sikhnet discussion forum, most of the people there are pretty decent. Relatively few “fundos”.
Stay the hell away from some of the more obscure religious websites on the ‘net.
i’m more interested in practicing sikhi in real time. i’m actually a religious person but the various sikh student associations around here and the more active people are not very open-minded, and they are pretty one-track about their interests; i’ll call it the 5 k’s plus one
Fair enough — I guess these things vary according to where you live.
In any case, remember that you don’t need to be around Sikhs (either actual, hereditary, or allaged) in order to practice the faith “in real-time” — it’s more to do with the basic nature of the people one socialises with, irrespective of their formal religious affiliation (if any) or ethnicity.
Anyway, Sikhnet is good if you haven’t checked it out before because their discussion forum is used by Sikhs (and indeed some non-Sikhs) from all around the world, including the US. There are some pretty amazing people on there, I’ve often found it to be quite an eye-opening experience and it certainly challenges many preconceptions; the intellectual capacity of many of their participants is at least on a par with SM, and as I said earlier, most of them are unusually decent people too. I think their aim has basically to create an open-minded “online gurdwara” based on the highest ideals of the faith; I’ve personally found it quite therapeutic sometimes, it can do wonders to restore your faith in human nature. It’s also very well moderated so everyone’s very polite, and unncessary bukwaas, prejudice or narrow-mindedness isn’t tolerated.
So don’t worry, there are a lot of genuinely nice and broad-minded Sikhs out there too 😉
Can we get back to the babes please?
laughing Alright, alright ! Here’s a link to the new Miss England’s profile which was recently posted on the BBC Asian Network message board (the website appears to have been hijacked by some young UK-based Islamists with fantasies about global domination, incidentally):
http://www.missengland.info/miss-en-finalists2005-maya.html
yeah but i’d like a sangat, for that you need like minded people around
I know what you mean but your sangat doesn’t necessarily need to be composed of Sikhs — it can be warm-hearted, good-natured people of any background who share your basic positive values and ideals. Anyone whose company you enjoy and who have a positive impact on you and your life.
thanks Jai
i know hammasa very well.. galz like her show that you can achieve whatever u like!! i remember her a few years ago dreaming to be at this stage and here she is!! it just goes to show u can achieve anything you want as long as your willing to work hard for it & she truly deserves the miss england title!! i wish her all the best for the future…
Thanks, razib for the biggest laughs I’ve had for a while. The hadith of plumpness and its preference for round cheeks on the day of judgement was a classic.
As to Hammasa Kohistani, I am glad that we British are finally getting some decent looking women, even if we do have to import them. Maggie Thatcher, Mo Mowlam, Kate Adie, Florence Nightingale – all fine women, but not likely to win any beauty pagents. I’ll be cheering her on in China this December.
Well actually it makes is easier for us to get past you when you’re deafened by the music and sleeping off your hangovers 🙂
But just make sure you wash your hands afterwards
A friend of mine is a relative of Hammasa. She has brought shame to her family. Her father is Uzbek and her mother is Pushtun. Her mum is against it though. In fact, most of her Pushtun relatives didn’t know about it till she got crowned Miss England!