This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The first internationally recognised Miss Iraq beauty contest in more than 40 years was supposed to present a gentler, softer side to a country whose name has become synonymous with violence and bloodshed.

Instead, organisers are facing a backlash from religious hardliners and conservative tribal leaders who say such pageants are un-Islamic and threaten public morality.

At least two women have pulled out of the contest after receiving death threats. Organisers have dropped the swimsuit section of the competition and postponed the televised finale in an attempt to deflect some of the criticism.

However, the organisers and most contestants, backed by many members of the public, remain determined to press ahead with an event they see as a step towards normality in a society still deeply divided 12 years after the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

“There are many indications that Iraq is finished, but such contests give hope that life in Iraq goes on,” said Senan Kamel, the pageant’s spokesman and one of its judges.

Kamel said organisers had tried to tone down or adapt aspects of the contest out of respect for the taboos and sensibilities of a conservative Muslim country that frowns on the public display of women’s bodies.

“We deliberately organised the competition according to standards appropriate to Iraqi society to prove to the world that Iraq is a civilised country with a civic soul and a spirit of life,” he said.

For example, swimsuits have been replaced with a more conservative outfit, though a ban on Islamic headscarves remains, in keeping with the protocol of western pageants.

“If we don’t stick to the standards, we will not receive approval to participate in international competitions, but for sure we are not at the stage of wearing bathing suits,” Kamel said.

The pageant’s televised finale, originally set for 1 October, has been moved back to at least December after threats by tribal leaders opposed to young women from their families taking part.

A pro-Shia Muslim television channel warned this month that the event would corrupt public morals and “create a base culture while our people face the danger of terrorism”. It accused the organisers of being Freemasons, a loaded insult in the Middle East where the secretive, fraternal organisation is widely seen as pro-Zionist and hostile to Islam.

Baghdad’s Shia-led government, formed last year with backing from Iran and the US, has so far steered clear of the controversy over the beauty pageant.

The outcry has not discouraged Miss Iraq contestant Lubna Hameed, a 21-year-old university student from Baghdad, who said she hoped to serve as a role model for Iraqi women.

“God willing, I will try to ignore [the criticism] because it is an honour to represent my country,” she said after a screening interview at the studios of Al Mada television station, which is hosting the pageant.

Hamsa Khalid, an 18-year-old high school student, also said hostility would not deter her from taking part, saying the message she hoped to deliver as Miss Iraq could be summed up in one word: “Peace”.

The first and last time Iraq participated in a major international beauty pageant was in 1972 when Wijdan Burhan al-Deen represented the country at the Miss Universe contest. Iraqi social clubs have since hosted occasional contests, but by widening the applicant pool and registering with the government, organisers of this Miss Iraq contest hope the winner will once again qualify for prestigious international pageants.

They plan to send representatives to competitions in Egypt and Thailand. Judges are whittling down an applicant pool of 50 finalists to 10.

The contestants will receive instruction in etiquette and public speaking and will volunteer to help some of the 3 million Iraqis displaced by fighting between the army and Islamic State.

Some Iraqis said they were disheartened by the controversy over the pageant. “We are glad to see more things like this. We Iraqis have been deprived of many things. Many young people are migrating. People are not comfortable here,” said Ali, a 21-year-old soldier. “These are people who do not want Iraq to do well, to improve. These people want to go backwards.”

Contestants hail from across Iraq, including Mosul, the northern city seized by Isis in 2014.

Kamel said contrary to accusations that the contest was undermining traditional values, it aimed to help revitalise Iraq’s cultural scene, once one of the most dynamic in the Middle East.

“We are searching for a personality to represent Iraq, a woman to be a real ambassador,” he said.