Czech Beauty Queen Converts to Islam

A former Czech model's conversion has made headlines in Czech tabloids and Arabic media

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 29.02.2016 15:49:29 (updated on 29.02.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

Last week, local tabloids Expres.cz and eXtra.cz published a story about a Czech model, identified as Markéta Maryam, who had converted to Islam after moving to Dubai. 

An interview with Expres focused mostly on Markéta’s positive attitude and experiences after the conversion.

“At first no one knew what to think,” she said, referring to her friends and family. “I think the main problem is widespread fear of Muslims. People only know what they see in the media.”

Eventually, however, others adjusted. “I explained it to them and they accepted it. They saw that I was still the same girl and everything was fine.”

Photos published alongside the eXtra story were sourced from Markéta Maryam’s Instagram account

Earlier this morning, Indian newspaper The Siasat Daily published an amusing version of the story in which they credit Marketa as a “former beauty queen of the Democratic Republic of Czechoslovakia.” 

“She said that the status given to Muslim women in Islam attracted her to accept this faith,” the Daily claims.

While most of the article seems unreliable, it also identifies the former model as Marketa Kořínková, which seems to be accurate based on social media profiles.

In 2012, Kořínková won the title of Miss Motors International in a competition held in Italy, becoming the “ambassador for road safety worldwide.”

This Nova article identifies her as a former girlfriend of Czech pop star Vojtěch Dyk.

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