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11 October, 2006

Carry On Girls

In a fiasco worthy of any classic British film, a furore has erupted over plans to hold a Miss Emirates 2007 beauty contest in the sandlands:

"We took the ads on public streets down and it’s within our right to do so when the content of the ads are deemed offensive or insensitive to cultural and religious values of the UAE," a Sharjah municipality spokesman told 7DAYS yesterday.

Quite why anyone would advertise any kind of entertainment or public event in the Stone-Age Emirate is anyone's guess. But the real problem with this pageant is that it is not open to those sporting Y-chromosomes.

In Dubai, men are far more lacquered, pampered and tarted-up than women. The amount of hair gel, aftershave, manicuring, waxing, overpriced designer clothes, exquisitely-barbed beards, gold jewellery and so forth that adorns male sandlanders leaves the average international metrosexual in the dust. Were gambling allowed, a punt on a sandlander winning the next Mr Universe could be a very crafty bet.

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24 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with Sharjah municipality, regardless of your opinion SD. Many of us also agree, whether you like it or not.
Hatem

11 October, 2006 03:35  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There's be legally filmed orgies on Jumeirah Beach before we know it.......

11 October, 2006 03:56  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There'll***

11 October, 2006 03:56  
Blogger nijaz said...

something similar I had written a few months back when I figured out that probably the hair gel must be the most selling FMCG in the sandlands now.

11 October, 2006 04:58  
Blogger Grumpy Goat said...

I thought it was haraam for blokes to wear gold jewellery, and silk or brocade are similarly forbidden.

Naturally, 22k gold, diamond-encrusted cufflinks are to keep the shirt cuffs under control, and as such don't count as jewellery. A similar approach is employed to justify gold, platinum and precious stones all over a wristwatch or mobile phone.

11 October, 2006 07:39  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hatem, I am sure many many many people like you exist. I respect your right to think in any way you please, but I certainly don't respect the opinion itself.

SD, what is most interesting about this though, is that the entire contest is a bit of a shady one. No company names mentioned.. mobile numbers only.. it just sounds wrong.

11 October, 2006 08:51  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the funny thing is the sharjah municipality approved the installation of the ads, then they'll be the one to take them down...it this a classic case of ooops?

11 October, 2006 09:26  
Blogger al-republican said...

Flaunting one's wealth is definitely discouraged in Islam. One of the reasons why gold is haram for men is so that people dont flaunt their wealth and spend their money on other worthy causes. Gold and jewelery is also haram for men because it is something for women and imitating the opposite gender is a serious crime in the religion.

However, flaunting one's body is explicitly and categorically haram - be it men or women. This beauty pageant thing is just a bunch of nonsense that people have been led to believe is the "empowerment of women". Actually, if women are mature enough, they would understand that it is just another way of enslaving them as sex items who have no worth. The sad part is that the womenfolk are really happy about being stripped naked and made to walk around on a ramp!

11 October, 2006 10:08  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 08:51

I respect your right to think in any way you please, but I certainly don't respect the opinion itself.

Check Emirates Today and u'd find something interesting.

That is what the locals think about it and that is what supposed to happen.

11 October, 2006 10:17  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes,......so?

(Please allow your kind government to maintain your virtue on your behalf.)

As observed some posts above, no hoarding, billboard, signboard etc., can go up in any Emirate without first having obtained Municipality permission. The signboard companies simply will not go ahead with any artwork, leave alone final "erection", without such permission. So Sharjah Municipality approves the billboards, then quickly tears them down in virtuous outrage, once they've been installed.

11 October, 2006 10:23  
Blogger Jassim said...

The amount of hair gel, aftershave, manicuring, waxing, overpriced designer clothes, exquisitely-barbed beards, gold jewellery and so forth that adorns male sandlanders leaves the average international metrosexual in the dust

Thats a description of Lebanese SD Lebanese! Please dont mistake them for the wider arab world.

BTW i personally think Miss Emirates and Miss World and stuff is just another form of prostitution, afterall they are selling their bodies as sexual objects..whether u can have sex with them or not.

I think Miss World is Stone Age.

11 October, 2006 10:46  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

off topic, but very very funny - lighten up :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQuzu6XZW3U&eurl

11 October, 2006 10:55  
Blogger Earthbound Misfit said...

looks like the Moral police are out in force.

It is irrelevant whether beauty pageants are like prostitution or whether they are haram and halal.

It is a matter of choice. If a woman wants to take part in the pageant (of her own free will) we have no right to stop it.

If you don't agree with it, don't watch it. Simple.

But then such concepts are lost on people whose idea of no compulsion is to execute apostates.

11 October, 2006 11:14  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ha ha!!
SD, a good topic would be personal hygiene, not just "looks".
I would like to know why is it so difficult for some cultures here to achieve a "non-smelly" condition, it is just nasty, I have been in meetings with "top-executives" where some people just have a terrible corporal odour and some others add up bad manners.
Why, why, why!!!, I've seem well groomed guys and girls, smelling so bad, that all the time they spent grooming is just wasted time...
I can understand if there is someone who spends a lot of time under the sun, or driving for a long time, etc ...but for their own good, it is ok to take a shower now and then and use deodorant (bake soda and lime juice at least!!!) to combat that nauseabund smell.
I won't get into the origins of the people that smell, but a high percentage of them are ....yes, you guessed.
Adios!

11 October, 2006 11:18  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well... i never really expected that they will do a beauty pageant in UAE... or At Least in Sharjah.. however there was this Contest for a cover girl, it was held in Dubai for the last two Years... i guess the magazine was called Young & Trendy... i think so im not quite sure...

Well i never Considered Beauty Pageants a measure of progress and development, i mean i dont think a country that doesnt do Pageants is still living in the (Stone Age) as SD Said... i mean... in my opinion, i think the whole thing is silly, i mean yeah you vote for the most beautiful, sexiest Girl, but then what?..however... i also dont think Pageant are another type of prostitution,.... i mean this is an unfair description for the girls participating in the pageant...

As For the Whole (Men Wearing Jewellary) thingy... well In Islam... Men Don't Wear Gold Jewellary... but i think they can wear silver ones or whatever... however the contreversy that is happening in Dubai is that Locals dont wear these stuff... but they buy Golden Phone.. Have Golden Watches... talk about waste of money!!! ... And Jassim... i dunno if you know... but Locals do Wear overpriced clothes and stuff... dammit i even found some of them wearing make up and putting Gold Jewellary on (talk About Determining Sexual Orientation)... so please if u have a point of View dont forget to include your own people in it... or wait... i forgot... i live in the ignorent World Of Dubai!!!

11 October, 2006 12:17  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

HEY PEOPLE !!!

WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?! We should encourage such type of beauty contests in the UAE. Because of such events atleast we would know someone getting "popular" in UAE.

We need these local girls to open up with expats and express themselves freely. They wont be able to do so till they are let out of the bag.

Most of them are stuck up and need them to spread themselves among other communities.

Never the less, Bikini round should come in the end!!

11 October, 2006 12:26  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm surprised this hasn't led to the usual 'outcry' within the religous community. Wha's called for is a complete overreaction: lets burn an effigy, riot, shoot some people, blow something up etc etc. *YAWN*

Religion is SO last millenium.

11 October, 2006 13:09  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ok no one knew about this contest... and welll wots the best way to market a product... make it a scandle ... the truth is only one poster was posted... and bang.... the newspaper .. brandishes it... and presto.. free publicity... now the whole of UAE knows... smart move .. but yes as mentioned earlier.. shaddy... wont be surprised if all the opps pics and change rooom cams are posted on the net following the contest...

and sharjah... aggggggg dont even get me started...

11 October, 2006 14:02  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just on the idea of conspicuous displays of wealth being haram... does that include zipping around in an incredibly expensive ferrari / 4x4 / lear jet? Because there do seem to be one or two locals who haven't quite taken that message on board...

11 October, 2006 17:47  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought Emirates Today's goal was to show the positive side of the Emirates. Their front page story leaves no doubt that under the thin veneer of 'Las Vegas by the Sea' Dubai lies a culture that is closer to the Taliban's than that of a thriving cosmopolitan entrepot that like's to portray itself as a 21st C city. (Oh I forgot there is plenty of prostitution to reinforce those credentials...)

11 October, 2006 19:01  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Were gambling allowed, a punt on a sandlander winning the next Mr Universe could be a very crafty bet.

I'll take that bet and give you odds.

12 October, 2006 00:08  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Miss World may be Stone Age, but Islam is MUD AGE!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAA LOL

15 October, 2006 12:12  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wut is the use of having something like beauty contests anyway? there r ppl all over the world who cant even have a good meal and sleep in a comfortable bed and u r talking about beauty contests? this shows how selfish u guyz r. and its obvious wut the ppl in the west cultures r doing, they make up some stuff like beauty contests so they can make girls take off their cloths which every normal guyz like to watch. any1 saw eurotrip? when the guy fooled the girl in the hot tub and told her to rub her boobs? thats wut u guyz want, but sharjah municipality did that cuz they want to protect girls from such abuse. about men wearing gold, thats forbidden cuz its only permitted for women, islam only permitted women to wear it and forbid men from wearing it cuz its a gift for women, cuz islam gives women a lot of importance and speciality. and making women cover up is protection for them from perverts who are everywhere around us. perverts who want to c naked women everywhere and call that modern age. once i was walking in the street and it was really cold and raining and i saw a women wearing mini-skirt and a short t-shirt with no sleeves, i wondered how could she endure such a cold weather with such outfit while i'm a man and i'm wearing 2 shirts and a jacket and still feeling cold, so i asked her if she was feeling cold or not and she answered that she was freezing!!!! ppl , i cant get ur logic!! if she is freezing , y dont she just wear some cloths???? u ppl r weird and un-practical ( in short - stone aged ppl )

11 January, 2007 01:34  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beauty contests are another way of exploiting women and it's all part of the west's influence...(my opinion) For the blogger about islam being in the mud age...I hope God forgives you when the times comes...it's everyones perogative to air their views but I fear my God for uttering things I am not responsible for. SD are you a UAE national and a muslim?...just curious and are you censored/banned in any parts of the UAE? Is the UAE an islamic country? someone asked if so and one wants to keep it at that...why allow so many non muslims in... there will be conflicts??

19 March, 2007 08:51  

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