Muslim protests alter Miss World pageant

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s government has moved the final round of the Miss World pageant from the country’s main Java island to the resort island of Bali amid protests by hard-line Muslims against the contest, an official said Saturday.

The decision, announced by Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono, makes Bali the sole location for the event, which opens today.

The final round was initially set for Sept. 28 in Sentul, on the outskirts of Jakarta, the capital.

Bali is the only Hindu-dominated province in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.

Muslim hard-line groups have protested in Jakarta and other cities, urging the government to cancel the contest.

Rejection of the event has also come from the country’s most influential clerics’ group, the Indonesia Ulema Council, which argues that exposure of skin by women in such a competition violates Islamic teachings.