Riyadh: Newly-crowned Iraqi beauty queen has received threats from Islamic State group.
An unidentified man called her a few hours after her crowning and threatened her into joining the terrorist group. "You either join the Islamic State for sex Jihad or you will fall into captivity sooner or later", the caller told her.
Members of the jury told Arabic daily Okaz that 20-year-old girl from Kirkuk was unfazed by the threats, saying that her victory "proves that Iraq, my homeland, is still the land of beauty and culture in the face of terrorism and violence".
She described her victory as a humanitarian message to the world, pledged to spare no efforts to represent her country in the world.
Earlier on Saturday, it was smoky, alcohol-free and there was no swimsuit contest, but the event produced the first Miss Iraq in four decades and left all feeling a small victory had been won.
"Some people out there think we don't love life," said Humam al-Obeidi, one of the organisers, as the crowd spilled out of the Baghdad hotel ballroom where the pageant was held.
The jury chose Shaymaa Abdelrahman, a tall, green-eyed 20-year-old from Iraq's multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk.
Newly crowned Miss Iraq Shaymaa Abdelrahman, 20, left, as she celebrates after being crowned the end of the 2015 Miss Iraq Final, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 (AP Photo)
For more photos of the events, Go On Next Slides
&uuid=(email))