Saturday, May 7, 2016

Rima Fakih: Converts to Christianity, no longer "Miss Hizbullah"

Rima Fakih, the first Moslem woman to be elected Miss America, of Lebanese descent no less, has converted to Christianity (originally a Shiite Moslem). Derided as being "Miss Hizbullah", and seen a threat to American way of living, there you have it - now she could be convicted of apostasy in 8 different countries! Apparently miss Fakih did her conversion in preparation to her marriage to a Christian music producer.
No matter, I always thought of religion and faith as private spaces between a person and whatever they think of God to be, however, Fakih was thrown in the limelight specifically as being the first Moslem Miss America, and became the torchbearer of something even bigger than what a "regular" "all-American" Miss America usually handles.
If I am intruding on her personal life and beliefs, something to which I apologize, it is because she became a public figure and got singled out for those beliefs or her faith and religion in general, and yes, she was ridiculed as Miss Hizbullah among the American right - even though the pageant is owned by none other than Donald Trump who wishes to ban Moslems entering the United States (bonus points for Fakih, she can now espace this threat by being a Christian!).
I still say faith is a personal matter, and as I wish Miss Fakih the best in her choices whether she had a Damascene conversion or did so for practical reasons.