MISS WORLD: A DEFEAT FOR DEMOCRACY

The facts happened in Nigeria, that brought to the decision of moving the beauty contest of Miss World, show the convergence of two diametrically extreme stands: on one side the fundamentalism of strong and pure abolitionists who were requesting the beauty queens not to go to Nigeria as it is the place where sentences to death by stoning are carried out for adultery; on the other side the Islamic fundamentalism of those who pronounce those sentences and who did not want those “blaspheme” women to enter the country.
And now on the field are only the dead and the democratic forces of the country, together with a President and a Government who have been weakened by the attempt of trying to maintain a young democracy alive. After thirty years of military dictatorships they are trying to rule the country by tolerance, in a way to ensure a pacific coexistence between the various ethnic and religious groups, in a country of 130 millions inhabitants, half of them Muslims an half Christians.
One month ago Hands Off Cain went to Nigeria. It now believes that, for the moment, Nigerian Muslims are not Talibans and that their Sharia is of political nature and it is used as a means of pressure by pour Northern States against the Federal Government to which they ask more funds from oil royalties.
Europe (together with Western Countries) has to decide whether to leave Nigeria to its fate and risk to make it drawn in fundamentalism or to support democratic forces.
On Nigeria Europe has been blind: Spain, for example, gave a warm welcome to the President of Iran (where at least 18 women have been stoned) while at the Parliament was asking Miss Spain to boycott a contest in a country that never stoned anybody.