A Nigerian beauty contestant wearing a headscarf and stilettos has won a Muslim-only beauty pageant in Jakarta, where participants were judged not just on their looks but their ability to recite verses from the Qur'an and their philosophy on modern-day Islam.

Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola, 21, dropped to her knees and thanked "almighty Allah" on Wednesday before collecting a prize of 25 million rupiah (£1,375) and trips to Mecca and India.

"We're just trying to show the world that Islam is beautiful," she told Agence France-Presse.

The 500-plus contestants who originally competed for the crown answered a round of online questions about, among other things, their relationship with Islam, including when they first began wearing the headscarf – a requirement for the beauty pageant.

"Muslimah World" saw 20 finalists from six countries, including Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia and Nigeria, compete in a contest that has been billed as a non-violent answer to the Miss World pageant railed against by Islamic hardliners.

Thousands have protested in recent weeks against Indonesia hosting this year's Miss World pageant, originally set in Jakarta for 28 September, but which has since been moved to the resort island of Bali, a Hindu enclave, amid public security concerns. Miss World contestants have also been banned from wearing bikinis and will instead wear sarongs in accordance with "what the public wanted", Indonesia's co-ordinating minister for people's welfare, Angung Laksono, said.