Indonesian Muslims resume anti-Miss World protests
Indonesian Muslim protesters display a banner during a rally demanding the cancellation of Miss World pageant in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013. AP
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia Muslim hard-liners have resumed protests in the country’s capital and two other cities against the Miss World pageant being held in the resort island of Bali.
Several hundred members of the Islamic Defenders Front and Islamic Society Forum held a rally late Saturday in downtown Jakarta.
They waved banners with the slogan “Reject Miss World” and “Miss World Go To Hell.”
Similar protests were staged in East Java cities of Jember and Banyuwangi, where police blocked the protesters from travelling to Bali.
The 63rd edition of the Miss World pageant was opened last Sunday in Bali after days of protests by the groups confined the event to the only Hindu-dominated province in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.
