Brussel's controversial Beauty Queen

Halima Chehaïma, the 18 year old half-Moroccan half-flemish Beauty Queen, last September won the title of "Miss Brussels".

She is now a candidate for the title of "Miss Belgium", and is considered by many to be the perfect symbol of the new multicultural Belgium.

But there are a few issues that are causing some controversy. An excerpt from the Brussels Journal shows us a few of the things that are raising some questions about her suitability as a candidate for the title of "Miss Belgium":

[...] Halima Chehaïma was a controversial candidate. Last October she stood for the Marxist-Leninist Labour Party in the local elections in Molenbeek, the predominantly Muslim Brussels borough where she lives. The party is so marginal that she did not get elected, but her declaration that Israel must be wiped off the map raised the eyebrows of the organizers of the Miss Belgium pageant. What really seems to have ruined her chances, however, is her connection with Bilal Ould Haj, a Belgian criminal of Moroccan origin.

Ould Haj, who has been convicted three times so far for armed robberies, is soon to stand trial for torturing the 84-year old Maria Reyntjes. When he broke into the latter’s home in November 2003 and found only 500 euros (650 dollars) he flew into a rage, broke the old lady’s legs with a hammer and set her hair on fire. At the time he was Chehaïma’s sweetheart, though she claims they were just friends. [...]

She got a new boyfriend, an Albanian criminal. But the old boy friend escaped from jail, and the new boyfriend met up with the old boy friend and... well, you can read all the sordid details here:

Miss Brussels in Dire Straits

I remember when Vannessa Williams was a scandal in the USA. To Vanessa's credit, she wasn't involved with criminals, supporting communism or threating to wipe entire countries off the map. Sheesh.