CAIRO: Rima Fakih made history Sunday night as the first Muslim-Arab-American to be crowned Miss USA. Fakih, 24, won the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. After her runway walks in the swimsuit and an evening gown categories, she then had to go through the interview portion. During the interview round, Fakih had to answer whether she thought birth control should be paid for by health insurance. She said she thought it should because it's costly. “I believe that birth control is just like every other medication even though it's a controlled substance,” Fakih said. This response seemed to work well with the judges. They voted Fakih Miss USA, and along with the title, she gets a one-year lease for a New York apartment with living expenses, an undisclosed salary, and various health, professional and beauty services. When asked how she felt about the winning Fakih said, “Ask me after I've had a pizza.” Fakih was born in Lebanon. Her family then moved to New York where she was raised. In New York, she attained a Catholic School. Her family then moved to Dearborn, Michigan in 2003, where she later became Miss Michigan USA. “This is the real face of Arab Americans, not the stereotypes you hear about,” said Zouheir Alawieh, 51, of Dearborn in an interview with freep.com. “We have culture. We have beauty. We have history, and today we made history.” Runner up in the competition was Miss Oklahoma Morgan Elizabeth Woolard after handling a question about Arizona's new immigration law, which would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give police power to arrest anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant. Woolard said she supported the law, but is against racial profiling. Fakih replaces Miss USA 2009, Kristen Dalton of North Carolina. Fakih will represent the U.S. in Miss Universe in August. Mariam Fahmy, an Egyptian student at American University of Cairo told Bikya Masr that “this is very good for the US; something different that no one ever expected has happened. A Muslim, Arab winning this pageant? It is very good for diversity.” Nour el-Sebai, also a student at American University of Cairo, said that Obama winning the presidency has made the United States more open for diversity. Sebai added that “Obama winning the election opens the US to change in anything.” BM
