Groan-inducing.

Via Raw Story:

Contestants at this year’s Miss World beauty pageant will not wear bikinis in the parade in a bid to avoid causing offence in Muslim-majority Indonesia, organisers confirmed Wednesday.

The 137 women taking part in the September contest will swap bikinis for more conservative attire, such as traditional sarongs, for the beach fashion section.

The contest is being held on the resort island of Bali, where foreign tourists flock in their millions and the beaches are packed with women sunbathing in skimpy swimwear.

Last year pop sensation Lady Gaga was forced to cancel her concert in Indonesia after Muslim hardliners threatened to burn down the venue and criticised her for only wearing “a bra and panties”.

Update: You can’t win with these people.

Via Jakarta Globe:

Islamic hard-liners vowed Thursday to stop the “immoral” Miss World beauty pageant taking place in Indonesia even after organizers agreed this year’s contestants would not wear bikinis.

The Hizb ut-Tahrir group slammed the show as like “selling women’s bodies” and threatened to hold demonstrations against it, while a group in the province where the final is due to take place also voiced strong opposition.

More than 130 women will compete in the September event, with some rounds on the resort island of Bali and the final in Bogor outside Jakarta. Bogor is in West Java province, parts of which are considered a stronghold for radicals.

Organizers confirmed on Wednesday the contestants would not wear bikinis during the beach fashion section, to be held in Bali, and would instead wear more conservative attire such as traditional sarongs.

However, the concession was not enough for hardline groups in Indonesia, where some 90 percent of the 240 million population are Muslims.

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