Hundreds Of People Killed When Nigeria Rejected Miss World 2002

Azra Akin, winner of Miss World 2002 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The Miss World 2002 contest was supposed to be held in Nigeria. However, on November 23 that year, the annual beauty pageant was moved to London due to riots sparked by Muslim youth. They are against the event. The rioting killed more than two hundred people. Five hundred others were injured. The role of a mass media was highlighted as an instigator of anger.

In a statement, Miss World CEO Julia Morley made no mention of the protests. Instead, he thanked the organizers and the Nigerian government. He also said he regretted having to make the decision to move the event.

Contest organizers said the show will still be held on December 7, provided it will take place in London. Meanwhile, in Abuja, police said they had managed to control the streets after violent protests spread to the city.

Quoting the BBC, Monday, November 23, the contest organizers said the change of venue was in the interest of the whole of Nigeria and of the contestants. Public Relations Miss World Stella Din added that the show will definitely continue.

The beginning of the problem

Contestants are under pressure to withdraw from the event, even before they arrive in Africa. Activists protesting the death sentence imposed on a young Nigerian woman named Amina Lawal have also joined in pushing for the boycott of Miss World.

On March 22, 2002, the 31-year-old woman was sentenced to be stoned to death by an Islamic court in the northern state of Katsina. This is because Amina Lawal gave birth to a child out of wedlock. Even though she was raped. Amina Lawal's lawyers appealed the decision.

Kaduna, a city in Zamfara state - which is predominantly Muslim and a Christian minority - immediately imposed a curfew. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo appeared on television alongside religious leaders to appeal for national calm, blaming media reports for the violence.

"That can happen at any time. Journalism does things that are not responsible for Islam," he said.

Problems have arisen since the contestants' arrival earlier this month. Many Nigerian Muslims were outraged by the event. They regard hosting Miss World as an affront to their conservative notions of feminine modesty. Moreover, the event at that time was planned to be held in the holy month of Ramadan.

Initially the protests were limited to angry statements by Islamic leaders and clerics. Then on November 16, Nigerian newspaper ThisDay published an article written by a 21 year old journalist in which he said that "Prophet Muhammad will marry one of the contestants."

Many Muslims were deeply offended by this statement. The newspaper immediately apologized on the front page.

"With all the responsibility, sensitivity and respect for all Muslims, the staff, management, editors and board of ThisDay Newspaper apologize for the grave editorial error of last Saturday's Miss World Beauty Pageant ... We regret the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in the comments that written by one of our staff is not only unjustifiable, but also very provocative, "said the apology.

But the apology was too late. On November 20 youth in Kaduna set fire to the office of ThisDay newspaper. The rioting intensified, the reasons for the bloodshed grew. From those previously questioning the title of Miss World, there has been a conflict between Muslims and Christians. They burned places of worship and attacked each other.

Troops and police responded forcefully and the Red Cross said about a hundred people had died with the streets of Kaduna strewn with bodies. Over the past 50 years, the Miss World competition has faced a number of problems, but none like the one in 2002.

Despite all the difficulties, the show continues. Miss World 2002 was won by Azra Akin from Turkey and won 156 thousand US dollars. He beat Miss Colombia and Miss Peru.