Rana Raslan
Appearance
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Rana_Rasslan_D557-030_%28cropped2%29.jpg/220px-Rana_Rasslan_D557-030_%28cropped2%29.jpg)
Rana Raslan (Arabic: رنا رسلان, Hebrew: רנא רסלאן; born 17 March 1977) is an Arab-Israeli and former model from Haifa who won the Miss Israel title in 1999. She was the first, and so far the only, Israeli-Arab to win the first place.[1][2] She also represented Israel at the 1999 Miss Universe beauty pageant.[3]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Raslan's nomination as a feat of democracy in Israel.
Rana Raslan describes herself as a "secular Muslim" in responding to accusations of Muslim fundamentalists regarding immorality – specifically in reference to the swimsuit part of the pageant.[4] Raslan's father is a Muslim-Arab, whereas her mother is a convert from Christianity to Islam.
See also
References
- ^ "In the eye of the beholder" Archived 2007-03-02 at the Wayback Machine Al-Ahram #421, March 1999
- ^ "Arab crowned Miss Israel", BBC News March 10, 1999
- ^ "Rana Raslan - Miss Universe competition". Flickr.
- ^ "Arab beauty rides Miss Israel title through thorny issues", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 5, 1999