Moroccan model competes to become first Muslim Miss Italy

Ahlam El Brinis, 20, defies critics who say she is insulting Islam by taking part in the pageant

A Muslim model of Moroccan origin who hopes to become the first Muslim Miss Italy has vowed to defy critics who accuse her of insulting Islam by taking part in the beauty pageant.

Ahlam El Brinis, 20, has received threats and insults on social media for her decision to participate in the contest scheduled to be held next month.

Criticised for posing in bikinis and revealing clothes, with some Muslims accusing her of bringing Islam into disrepute, the young model labelled her critics "ridiculous people with too much time on their hands."

Further, Brinis added that she had drawn strength from the support of her grandmother back in Morocco who told her “religion is in the heart, not in the choice of clothes you wear”.

“There have been insults but there have been far more messages of encouragement, both from friends and people I have never met,” the model told a local newspaper. She added, “Religion should have nothing to do with a beauty contest.”

Read: Five Muslim girls arrested for 'attacking' bikini-clad French woman

Brinis will take part in the final qualifying round of the pageant next week at Jesolo, a resort town near Venice.

The 20-year-old says she respects Islam but does not want to be defined by it. She also says that she feels entirely Italian, having been born and raised in the northern city of Padua. “My parents came to the Veneto region more than 20 years ago and I was born in Padua hospital. I went to a nursery school run by nuns, where my mum worked as a cook. My family is Muslim but they have always been guided by Western values.”

Many took to Twitter to share their views on the model and the upcoming beauty pageant:

https://twitter.com/SMLNewsPaperli/status/636314742324236288

https://twitter.com/flexgirl2/status/636320769358737408

https://twitter.com/DKhan1710/status/636461336822591488

https://twitter.com/Kazi_Australia/status/636168705626411009c

This article originally appeared on The Telegraph