Most people have already heard the news: Yesterday the second Arab in the history of The Miss USA pageant has been crowned America's most beautiful woman. This woman is also the first Muslim* to hold the title.
Rima Fakih, now Miss USA, will be representing the United States in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant. Fakih was born in Lebanon and mostly raised in America. She attended a Catholic School (this is not as rare as a non-Muslim might assume) in New York and then moved to Dearborn, Michigan with and when her family left The Big Apple.
The Dearborn community of which has a large Lebanese-Shia'a population, seems supportive of Fakih for the most part. Several local, Muslim owned, businesses offered publicity and funds to the striving Miss Michigan as she worked toward the Miss USA title. Fakih has stated that her family had not originally wanted her to be in pageants but they came around and "are now [her] biggest fans!"
Within the Ann Arbor circle of Muslims the response to the newly crowned Miss USA is less supportive; many Muslim females do not seem impressed by Fakih's victory but have withheld displaying outright disdain. Most Muslimah from the Ypsi-Arbor area do not seem too affected by the news either way.
Facebook and Twitter are buzzing with some positive responses and congratulatory remarks directed at Rima Fakih from those who are presumed to be Muslim. It was not clear where in the country they are from or even if they are in fact from the United States.
To quote Jay Leno in his monologue which aired Monday night, "[an Arab woman winning Miss USA] ...goes to show you. Americans don't care about your race, or your religion. If you look smoking hot in a bikini we will embrace you!" It's a good thing Leno is half joking.
In actuality, America may be the one country that can embrace both the covered and the uncovered, both the conservative and the liberal, both the democrat and the republican --simply because they embrace liberty and freedom, for all.
*The asterisk is included in the article because the Miss USA pageant and Associates have not yet confirmed that indeed Rima Fakih is the first Muslim in history. It has nothing to do with her Muslim-ness, rather the chronology of things.
