Who is Sarah Idan ? The Miss Iraq who paraded on all fronts
This secular Muslim is a personality who stands out in both the media and diplomatic landscape. Sarah Idan strives to break down cultural and religious barriers, advocating dialogue and education as weapons against obscurantism. Musician, translator and ambassador for peace, she deploys her many talents for a single purpose: bringing people together and building a fairer world. Each chapter of this modern icon's journey reveals a new facet of her commitment and determination.
Sarah's childhood in Baghdad: Finding her way through music
Little Sarah grew up in Baghdad. From the moment she took her first steps in elementary school, the future beauty queen embraced with her classmates the lyrics and movements of a daily political choreography: “Glory to Saddam, long live Saddam Hussein!” At the time, Iraqi society was corseted by an oppressive state apparatus. On the broadcast “Story of Us”, the former Miss confides: “We had no freedom, we couldn't even make a joke about Saddam Hussein... There were only three TV channels, all controlled by the regime.”
Despite this assertive indoctrination, the little girl's thoughts remained elsewhere. In the 1980s, as the Iran-Iraq war raged in the capital, Sarah drowned out the sound of the bombings with her headphones. Cloistered in her room, she would play Christina Aguilera's “The Voice Within” over and over again. “Young lady, don't cry, I'll be right here when your world starts to fall apart... Just trust the voice within. Then you'll find the strength that will guide your way.” Like Marjane Satrapi, who recalls in her Persepolis novel the day she first discovered American pop-rock, the Iraqi teenager began to escape into music. Lulled by the words of a foreign language, she taught herself to decip her this unknown dialect. This was the beginning of her vocation as an interpreter.
On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Sarah Idan applied for a job as a translator at the U.S. Embassy. Despite her fluent oral expression and solid knowledge of grammar, the teenager was rejected because she was too young. “Come back when you're eighteen”, she was told. Which she did, successfully.
Now sheltered by her dual Iraqi-American nationality - after receiving the green card promised by the embassy in exchange for her services - Sarah decided to put her linguistic skills to a new use. “I was aware that I was now part of the privileged ones, and I wanted to represent Iraq in the best possible way”.
On the catwalk of diplomacy: the unprecedented friendship of Miss Iraq and Miss Israel
In 2016, Sarah Idan won the much coveted title of “Miss Iraq”. A year later, the beautiful brunette continued the adventure by enlisting in the Miss Universe competition. But Sarah couldn't be complacent with a sheepish smile and a haggard stare in front of the cameras. Mindful of the diplomatic and inclusive dimension of the competition, Miss Iraq took the initiative to go and meet Adar Gandelsman, aka Miss Israel.
This unforeseen face-to-face encounter, which would later lead to a beautiful friendship, was immortalized in a selfie entitled “Peace and Love from Miss Iraq and Miss Israel”. The snapshot immediately caused a stir, both on digital channels and in the press. Despite threats and attempts to intimidate her, Sarah refused to delete the publication from her Instagram account. She repeated in an interview: “It was important for me to say hello to Adar, she was the only one who hadn't dared approach me. I told her that I had no hatred towards her and that we had to fulfill our role as ambassadors of peace.”
In 2018, Sarah Idan was invited to speak in Israel. Although slightly skeptical at first, the beauty queen accepted the invitation. The trip shook her vision of the Hebrew state. “All my life, I'd been told that Israel was a state only for Jews, and that we had no place there... Suddenly, I saw a mother walking down the street with her daughter in hijab, and I spotted posters wishing ‘Eid Mubarak’. I had also noticed that the hotel manager and some of the representatives of the assembly to which I had been invited were all Arabs.” The ambassador of peace was overwhelmed by her stay in Jerusalem. From then on, she set her sights on a new platform to defend her ideals : the new media.
Soon on the congress steps : Sarah Idan, the committed candidate
Now acknowledged as a committed activist, Sarah Idan is determined to represent her people on the international stage to the utmost. With over 100,000 followers on her X and Instagram accounts, the former Miss Iraq wields her pen to denounce the disrespect for human rights. Sarah Idan regularly writes articles, published in various periodicals including Algemeiner Journal. Her latest column warned of the disappearance of Iraq's diversity: “Sadly, Iraq’s diversity is being destroyed. Christian population has fallen by over 80%, from 1.4 million in 1987 to about 250,000 today. Iraq’s religious minorities are fleeing because they see no future in their ancient homeland...” In addition to being a media-savvy speaker, the young woman is also founder and CEO of the inter-cultural association Humanity4ward, which aspires to promote dialogue and cooperation between Jews and Muslims all around the world.
The next stairway Sarah Idan intends to tread is that of Congress. As a candidate for representative of California's 30th district under the Democratic Party ticket, Sarah is resolved to bring a new inflection to American politics, while confronting the deniers of the tragic events of October 7. In December 2023, she even visited Kfar Aza, a community devastated by Hamas terrorist attacks, to bring humanitarian aid.
As a former Miss Iraq, Sarah Idan has always argued that beauty queens should not be judged solely on their looks, but also embody models of grace and kindness.
Representing these very values, the young woman seems to have succeeded in trusting the voice within herself.
Sources :
https://twitter.com/RealSarahIdan?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
