Any of us would be wrong to stereotype people or pageants based on a passing review, just as it is inappropriate to stereotype all people of a given faith.

Likewise, much of Islam does not share the controversial views of cleric Mohammad Omran.

It would be incorrect to categorize pageants as based only on beauty. While only some pageants do have a swimsuit/fitness competition, they all have an interview competition.

It is safe to say that virtually all pageants have categories that score each participant in communication and overall ability to present oneself effectively.

The essence of pageantry is to elect a representative of the group. Someone who, based on the scoring of the pageant, is exemplary in every way.

If you were to actually attend the pageant, I am sure you would be most pleased that the representative elected will be an individual with commedable communication, academics, and community service.

Hello to all... As a representative of Kimberley Fine Diamonds, located in the far north of Western Australia - we are a major sponsor of Sabrina, I believe what everyone needs to remember is the fact that these pageants are solely geared toward raising money for charities. My opinion is simple, keep your religion(s) to yourself as a personal and inimate relationship with your chosen god, and stop hurting the feelings of young people whose only wish is to enjoy life and have fun doing something positive for themselves and others - I'm not sure any God would be upset by this. Next door to the Indigenous owned cattle station at Home Valley Station deep in the heart of WA's Kimberley outback lives a dear friend of mine - Mr Buddy Tyson, Buddy is an outback legend who perfoms a show for tourists, and he often recites the following: "Every man, woman and child, no matter if they are black, white, brown or brindle has a right to walk this earth..." If only Buddy Tyson could provide advice to our world leaders, he would put it all straight and stop the wars, feed the hungry and protect the basic human rights of all people no matter of religion, race or sex. If Sabrina was a famous swimmer like say, Ian Thorpe, leaving Sydney today, as Sabrina is, travelling to Poland to compete in the 1500m freestyle the front page of the papers etc would read Aussie Aussie Aussie Go Go Go ... Good Luck to Thorpie... etc... all we should hope for is the same for Sabrina - unfortunately, all media interviews have spoken about her religion and many have not mentioned she has raised 1.2 million for her chosen charities.... Sabrina is a beautiful, intelligent young Aussie woman doing nothing but good - a perfect role model for our multi-cultural home we call Australia. I believe religion means love, no matter who the God is... simple pure love... we should share it and embrace it and even if we all come just close to this as good people, we'll all end up in heaven! And for those who choose not to have a religion, who cares... they are still humans, love them too... as long as we all stop killing each other and focus on fixing under-developed countries. My company has a motto that states - Tourism not Terrorism - I seriously believe this may be the answer to many nations macro economic and social problems. Take care, wishing Sabrina well in Poland, Regards, CF - www.infodiss.com

shes ugly man. y wud she want to go in the competition. shes not pretty.

These events may be sugarcoated with phrases such as "beauty with a purpose" and they do not rely on beauty alone, however there is no denying that beauty plays the major part. The charity concept is very honorable but does not figure highly in the minds of the people watching the pageant. The majority watch to view who has the better face, the better body or the better gown. The most famous pageants feature contestants judged on their swimsuit parade, their gowns and then on the most rehearsed answer to the most shallow questions that skim the surface while pretending to address current issues. In this age of looks above anything else, where anoraxia and bulimia reign supreme, a criticism of such events or celebrities is not unfounded.
I do respect the idea behind some pageants, and understand the error behind stereotyping which to me represents a very narrowminded upbringing. Stereotyping however is a big part of daily life, whether about race or religion.
Most muslims may not share the views of cleric Mohammad Omran, however allow him to stay in his position.I have heard so many Australian Muslims criticising him, or cleric Taj Eldin Elhilaly and mr Trad, complaining that they do not represent them in a good light. However all you see on TV are these people spouting racism and not addressing major problems in their community.
I do hope the best for Sabrina, whatever were her motives in entering the competition. She is a great role model, a successful intelligent hard working charitable young woman. There are so many like her in the muslim community, but always sidelined and only bad examples are in the spotlight.

you're totally right christopher!!!i mean..i am a muslim lebanese girl but i believe that as long as the purpose of the beauty pageant is to promote beauty accompanied with a **peaceful**message to the whole world,none of us should judge sabrina before getting to know her... i can sense from the pic that she's such an innocent,caring teenager... so let's all wish sabrina the best in poland!!!! peace,manal***

The picture is of Ayten not Sabrina.

I think there is this idea that people can have it all; they can be g*y and religious, or a beauty queen and religious...it kind of strikes me as ludicrous. I have no problem with someone wanting to lead their own life, but why they do so clearly defying their very own beliefs yet also refusing to depart from the belief (pi**ing the people that genuinely are into their faith) is something I can't really understand. It's like a woman who has her breasts on display with a crucifix hanging in between them (makes no sense even if it has become the norm now)...I simply can't understand it.

The problem is as Muslim models they don't just keep their traps shut and get on with their jobs...they also wanna show their pea sized brain capacity by talking about how spiritual they are and that they practice their faith regardless of how people see them blah blah ("god is the only one judging me and I’m a good person....I am not harming anybody....I want to be a role model and help those in the middle east and other places where people suffer and I want to have a career and be a great mother someday" same old poo poo...a week later and we never hear about them again.

I can say for sure every single one of these pageant girls will say the same tripe about not wanting someone to judge them for how they look, and to look deep at their inner being and into their soul. They fail to comprehend the fact that it's simply impossible for a viewing public or a panel to go deep into their being and it’s their inability to understand that they are only screen entertainment that enhances their uselessness.

If there was a drop of good intent in these pageants then I doubt there would be the need to see them strut in bikinis and high heels...regardless of where the money made is going...the honourable needy and poor would probably not appreciate the fact that donations r coming in via a pair of balloons attached to a twig on skates. That said the ones making the 'big money' are never the poor and we all know that…it’s always some fat sweat guy sitting behind a desk…maybe a Sauvé sleazy good looking one…point is they all see these girls in the same light.

Furthermore to highlight my point; if the intent was good then dog pageants and male pageants would be just as popular as the female ones...and it would not be limited to a certain age group...or any elite. I am disgusted by dog pageants too I’d just like to add…the way they prop and powder them as though they are toys and instruct them to jump through hoops and what not…purrrleaaaaseeeeeee, it’s like a reinvention of Miss World or Miss Universe or whatever they call it nowadays, except a hairier version.

Nothing has led to the displaying of young girls of 4, 5 and 6 in pageant shows across America and other parts of the world then the influence of the more mainstream mature pageant shows. If the mature shows had a conscience they would have denounced the idea of imitating the same format with babies.

At the end of it all I think pageants are overrated in the middle east and much of cheesy Europe, they condone cosmetic/plastic surgery because only those with successful surgery will be liable to compete, The only thing we will see in magazines, newspapers, online and what not are the bits of meat they display and the ironed hair…etc.

Let me give u poppet’s some advice…any career which means you will have a shelf life and no say in the matter of when u depart is bad, it means you are being used by a higher authority for misleading reasons…end off.

Dunno half of what I said & not gonna reread it...

I'm sorry me again...people are saying 'peaceful message' and purposeful and what not but that’s a deluded response...look what happened in Nigeria...think about the things we constantly hear about 'miss Lebanon refused to stand next to miss Israel' and all the unheard of cat fights. What about the feminist groups who more or less have given up on the issue due to the silly cattle shows persistence? Pageant shows have become as political as anything else and that’s just one more reason for it to be halted; so as not to provoke peoples and undermine certain countries or beliefs. Apparently there are over 2000 pageants in the US...no wonder why the nation is so obese...coz they sit and watch paint dry all day long.

I love Sam's answers! I couldn't have said it better. Beauty pageants are mostly about girls being exploited....and don't start with me about how no one's making them join pageants.. it's their choice etc etc. Being a girl myself, I know what it feels like to get attention from people when I look nice.Some girls think that by getting all this attention it means they're worthy of something. It is a good feeling. And this satisfaction is being exploited and taken advantage of by individuals or organizations who have other agendas on their minds. At the end of the day, it is the girls who have to protect themselves.

Regarding the interview sessions during a beauty pageant... sure, they ask a couple of questions that can reflect a girl's personality and intelligence but ultimately she is being judged by her physical traits. True?

There are reasons why Islam prohibits such things. Nowadays people are only concerned about 'showing off', modesty (which is a HUGE part of Islam) is hardly appreciated anymore. And
I'm sorry but a woman prancing around on a stage with only a bikini on does not represent "liberation of women". Not at all.

Having said all this, beauty pageants are popular because everybody appreciates beauty. It's human nature. It's not just men who watch Miss Universe, but women too! There's really no point in arguing lol...

And there are other ways for beautiful, intelligent women to contribute to this world. Even being a good mother is a way of contributing to the world. A doctor,a teacher, an environmentalist, a journalist, writer, politician, judge, the list is endless.