At least 50 dead in Miss World riot in Nigeria

Houston Chronicle ^ | AP

[Jalapeno]

Nov. 21, 2002, 3:21PM

At least 50 dead in Miss World riot in Nigeria

Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Rioters stabbed pedestrians and torched churches during violent demonstrations today in the northern city of Kaduna. The Red Cross said more than 50 people died and 200 were wounded.

The protests were triggered by a newspaper article suggesting Islam's founding prophet might have chosen a wife from among contestants in the Miss World beauty pageant in Nigeria.

More than 50 people were stabbed, bludgeoned or burned to death and 200 were seriously injured in the violence in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods, Nigerian Red Cross President Emmanuel Ijewere told The Associated Press. At least four churches were destroyed, he said.

Many of the bodies were taken by Red Cross workers and other volunteers to local mortuaries. Many others remained inside homes that were set afire by the demonstrators, Ijewere said.

"A lot of people died. We don't know yet exactly how many ... more than 50," he said.

Shehu Sani of the Kaduna-based Civil Rights Congress said he watched a crowd stab one young man, then force a tire filled with gasoline around his neck and burn him alive. Sani said he saw three other bodies elsewhere in the city.

Alsa Hassan, founder of another human rights group, Alsa Care, said he saw a commuter being dragged out of his car and beaten to death by protesters.

Schools and shops hurriedly closed Thursday morning as hordes of young men, shouting "Allahu Akhbar," or "God is great," ignited makeshift street barricades made of tires and garbage, sending plumes of black smoke rising above the city. Others were heard chanting, "Down with beauty" and "Miss World is sin."

Hundreds of police and soldiers were deployed to restore calm. Riding in pickup trucks, they fired tear gas at protesters marching through otherwise abandoned streets waving tree branches and palm fronds.

State government officials declared a curfew of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Previous riots in Kaduna, a largely Muslim city with a sizable Christian minority, have escalated into religious battles that killed hundreds since civilian government replaced military rule in 1999.

The latest demonstrations began Wednesday with the burning of an office of ThisDay newspaper in Kaduna after it published the article questioned the reasoning of Muslim groups that have condemned the Miss World pageant to be held Dec. 7 in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Muslim groups say the pageant promotes sexual promiscuity and indecency.

[Jalapeno]

Who ever thought having this pageant there was a good idea is now a certified idiot.

[Samwise]

Religion of Pieces Bump

[DoughtyOne]

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[Vidalia]

Ahhh, the old "Beauties and the Beasties" syndrome strikes again...

[swarthyguy]

Its the rules. Pageant takes place in the country of the last winner.

[DoughtyOne]

Why would you say that? We're still willing to allow them to immigrate here. LMAO

[islander-11]

Quick - grab the big checkbook and send them some more foreign aid... (the Islander is rolling his eyes...)

Pretty stable continent, that Africa...

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

They were certified idiots to hold a pageant there to begin with. Note the downplay in the report that the riot was triggered by Islamic extremism. The word 'muslim' is mentioned very vaguely.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

They were certified idiots to hold a pageant there to begin with. Note the downplay in the report that the riot was triggered by Islamic extremism. The word 'muslim' is mentioned very vaguely.

[Cabbages and Kings]

Probably one of them there "Libocrats", got the go ahead from their normal pool of advisors in international affairs - the HOLLYWIERD group! A DEEP!DEEP! THINK TANK!

[realpatriot]

"Its the rules. Pageant takes place in the country of the last winner."

This will SERIOUSLY handicap any candidate from muslim countries in the future!

[Kerberos]

"The protests were triggered by a newspaper article suggesting Islam's founding prophet might have chosen a wife from among contestants in the Miss World beauty pageant"

I can see how the local muslims would interpret this statement as being blasphemous seeing how none of the contestants are under the age of 12.

[r9etb]

Exhibit #862 on the topic of "Why Nobody Ever Mistook Nigeria for the Cradle of Civilization."

[oldvike]

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:^)

[NEWwoman]

Give new meaning to the phrase: "If looks could kill ..."

[SCalGal]

None of the contestants were young boys, either.

[maica]

How much will you bet that the 50 dead people were not Muslims? How long will we have to wait for the alphabet networks to air this news?

[zingzang]

Quick - grab the big checkbook and send them some more foreign aid...

That's exactly what the liberal idiots will claim is needed here if they are asked about this on camera. Why we ever give these savages a dime in aid is completely beyond me.

[Willie Green]

Have you heard anything since the mid-term GOP sweep about funding for the National Endowment for the Arts?