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Newly-Crowned Miss Iraq Receives ISIS Death Threats — Join Or Else

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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Shayma Qassem received ISIS death threats after winning the first Miss Iraq pageant to be held in over four decades on Saturday.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Qassem received a phone call Tuesday morning, telling her to either join the Islamic State or be kidnapped and suffer the consequences. (RELATED: Pageant Bans Miss Puerto Rico Over Anti-Muslim Comments)

Though distressed by the call, Qassem — who will represent her country in the 2016 Miss Universe pageant — is determined to “continue forward despite any obstacles,” said Miss Iraq officials.

“I want to prove that the Iraqi woman has her own existence in society, she has her rights like men,” she told NBC News. “I am afraid of nothing, because I am confident that what I am doing is not wrong.”

Several other pageant contestants received death threats during the lead up to the pageant, resulting in two contestants dropping out before Saturday’s conclusion.

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