Rana Raslan (; ; born ) is an Israeli former model who won

Miss Israel Miss Israel (also referred to as , , ) was a national beauty pageant in Israel. The pageant was founded in 1950, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History In the late 1920s, a "Esther, Queen Esther Beauty Pageant" was held in Tel Avi ...

in 1999. With the cancellation of the pageant in 2022, she remains the only

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

to have won the title. Following her crowning as national beauty queen, Raslan represented

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

that same year. Concurrent Israeli prime minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

hailed Raslan's first-place nomination as a "clear manifestation of equality and cooperation between

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and Arabs in Israel" and criticized the assertion that Arabs are treated as second-class citizens under Israeli law.

Early and personal life

Raslan was born on 17 March 1977 in

Wadi Nisnas Wadi Nisnas (; ) is a predominantly Arab neighborhood in the city of Haifa, with a population of about 8,000 inhabitants. Etymology 'Wadi' is the Arabic word for valley, and 'nisnas' means mongoose, with the Egyptian mongoose being indigenous ...

, a neighbourhood in the city of

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

; her father is an

Arab Muslim Arab Muslims () are the Arabs who adhere to Islam. They are the largest subdivision of the Arab people and the largest ethnic group among Muslims globally, followed by Bengalis and Punjabis. Likewise, they comprise the majority of the population ...

and her mother is an

Arab Christian Arab Christians () are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, bu ...

who converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. She has described herself as a " secular Muslim" in response to accusations of immorality by Muslim fundamentalists—specifically in reference to the beauty pageants' usage of

swimsuits A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types and styles may be worn ...

. In 2003, Raslan relocated to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

after her marriage to an Emirati businessman.

References

External links

Israel beauty queens since 1950
1978 births Arab citizens of Israel Israeli female models Israeli Muslims Living people Miss Israel winners Miss Universe 1999 contestants Islam and secularism {{Asia-pageant-bio-stub

Early and personal life

See also

References

External links