Miss World riots

Miss World riots

blabla

Riots occurred mainly in Kaduna, other events in Abuja and Lagos.
Location Kaduna, Kaduna State
Abuja, FCT
Lagos, Lagos State
Date 20 – 23 November 2002
Attack type
rioting, manslaughter, pillage
Deaths c. 250[1][2]
Non-fatal injuries
300+[3]
Perpetrators Islamists, later rioting Christians and Muslims
Suspected perpetrators
1000+ people arrested[1]
Motive Revenge for "insult" of the prophet Muhammad, later (also) avenging killed fellow believers

The Miss World riots were a series of religiously-motivated riots in the Nigerian city of Kaduna in November 2002, claiming the lives of more than 200 people. The Miss World beauty pageant, that was controversial in Nigeria, was relocated to London after bloody clashes between Muslims and Christians, caused by what some Muslims deemed to be a "blasphemous" article in a Christian newspaper about the event. The Miss World riots were part of the Sharia Conflict in Nigeria, that started in 1999 when several predominantly Islamic states in Northern Nigeria decided to introduce Sharia law.

Background

Because the 2001 contest was won by the Nigerian Agbani Darego, Miss World 2002 would take place in (and be aired from) the Nigerian capital Abuja. In the run-up to the pageant there were many controversies, like the fact that it coincided with the Muslim holy month of ramadan, and the whole beauty contest was perceived by many conservative Muslims and also Christians to be unchaste.[2] The organisation conceded to the first complaint by moving the event from the end of November to 7 December, but did not act on the second complaint.[4] In several places, especially in the mostly Muslim North, peaceful protests were held against conducting Miss World in Nigeria.[2] Feminists argued the pageant was too sexist because it merely considered women's beauty and paid no attention to intelligence and character; the organisation conceded to them by altering the swimsuit parade to a photo shoot.[4]

However, conservative Islamic groups turned even more strongly against the Miss World organisation when it took a stand in the case of the Nigerian woman Amina Lawal. Amina had been condemned to death by stoning by a regional Islamic court because of alleged adultery.[5] First, Miss Côte d'Ivoire Yannick Azébian and Miss Norway Kathrine Sørland indicated at the end of August 2002 that they would boycott the beauty contest; other Misses expressed their doubts as well.[6] Miss Belgium, Denmark, France and Spain too decided to stay away, Miss Holland ignored calls to do so; the chairman of the Miss Holland opined: "Then you are actually giving the people in the North what they want. They are stopping an event which is 'perverse' in their eyes and are just continuing their ridiculous legislation."[7] Other Misses also found that exactly by showing up in Abuja they could make a statement against conservative beliefs about women. Civil rights activists eventually were able to persuade the Miss World organisation as a whole to plead for the release of Amina Lawal to the Nigerian federal authorities, eventually convincing them to promise that the stoning would not be permitted.[4]

Riots

After this, a column appeared in the Lagos-based Christian newspaper ThisDay on Saturday 16 November[4] in which journalist Isioma Daniel wrote that the Islamic prophet Muhammad would probably have approved of the Miss World competition: 'The Muslims thought it was immoral to bring ninety-two women to Nigeria and ask them to revel in vanity. What would Mohammed think? In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from one of them.'[2] This sparked outrage among some Muslims, and from 20 till 23 November the city of Kaduna was the stage of bloody riots between Muslims and Christians.[1] Two years earlier, Kaduna had already seen violent Christian-Muslim clashes. Many inhabitants had a strong sense of injustice because none of the perpetrators had been prosecuted afterwards.[2] Moreover, the riots had caused Christians and Muslims to concentrate and isolate themselves in separate districts. The ThisDay incident caused latent tensions in the religiously-divided city to erupt.[2][8]

On 26 November, Islamic clerics from Zamfara State issued a fatwa against the journalist Isioma Daniel for insulting the prophet. The fatwa constituted a death sentence, and all Muslims worldwide were called on to murder her.[12] In a statement that was later broadcast on local radio, the deputy governor Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi of Zamfara declared: "Like Salman Rushdie, the blood of Isioma Daniel can be shed. It is binding on all Muslims wherever they are to consider the killing of the writer as a religious duty."[13][14] The federal government of Nigeria rejected the fatwa,[14] and it was declared null and void by the relevant Saudi Arabian authorities.[15][16][17][18]

Aftermath

The Kaduna riots claimed the lives of about 250 people, mostly men and boys; 20,000 to 30,000 people lost their homes.[2] More than 1,000 people were arrested on suspicion of inciting or partaking in the violence.[1] The Committee to Protect Journalists and Amnesty International eventually helped Daniel to go in exile in Europe, because it was too dangerous for her to return to Nigeria.[9]

Amina Lawal, who was very thankful to the Misses for their concern about her fate, but who had spoken out against a boycott (just before the riots broke out),[19] was eventually acquitted on 25 September 2003.[20] Upon the pageant's return to England, many of the boycotting contestants chose to attend, including Miss Norway, Kathrine Sørland, who was ironically tipped in the last few days as the number one favourite for the crown she had previously boycotted.[21][22][23][24][25] The competition was eventually won by the Turkish Azra Akin; she was the second and at present last Miss World from a Muslim country (the first being the Egyptian Antigone Costanda in 1954).

See also

Literature

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Human Rights Watch, "Leave Everything to God", p. 9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "The "Miss World Riots": Continued Impunity for Killings in Kaduna". Human Rights Watch. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Vijftig doden bij rellen om Miss World-verkiezing". Trouw. 22 November 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Full original ThisDay column: Isioma Daniel (16 November 2002). "Miss World 2002 – The World at their Feet...". ThisDay. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  5. "Steniging na overspel alleen voor vrouwen". Trouw. 21 August 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  6. "Missen tegen stenen". Trouw. 29 August 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  7. Tom van der Beek (29 October 2002). "Miss Nederland negeert oproep tot boycot Miss Worldverkiezing". Trouw. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ton Crijnen (25 November 2002). "'Hier steekt een organisatie achter'". Trouw. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Isioma Daniel (17 February 2003). "'I lit the match'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  10. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)
  11. "Miss: Ik ben hier om me in te zetten". Trouw. 23 November 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  12. "Journaliste ontvlucht Nigeria wegens fatwa". Trouw. 27 December 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  13. James Astill & Owen Bowcott (27 November 2002). "Fatwa is issued on Nigerian journalist". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Nigerian Government rejects 'fatwa'". BBC News. 26 November 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  15. "Miss World 2002 – The World at their Feet". Isioma.net. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  16. Isioma Daniel (17 February 2003). "Nigerian journalist Isioma Daniel tells her story". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  17. "Nigeria's journalist on the run". BBC News. 27 November 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  18. "Miss World and Islam: "Fatwa" and Isioma Daniel a Nigerian "Fatwa"". Nigeria World. 26 November 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  19. "Ter dood veroordeelde Nigeriaanse tegen boycot". Trouw. 13 November 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  20. "Geen steniging Amina Lawal". Trouw. 26 September 2003. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  21. Modern Gent. "Contestants boycott Miss World". Modern Gent. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  22. Telegraph.co.uk – Don't boycott Nigeria's Miss World contest, begs mother facing stoning
  23. Telegraph.co.uk – Contestants threaten Miss World boycott over stoning
  24. "Nigeria faces Miss World boycott threat". BBC News. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  25. "Miss World Nigeria boycott spreads". BBC News. 6 September 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, September 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.