A leading Muslim cleric in Azerbaijan has criticised the decision to go ahead with a beauty pageant during the holy month of Ramadan, which Muslims devote to contemplation and a dawn to dusk fast.

The cleric, Haci Haciaga Nuriyev said the pageant showed disrespect for honest Muslims.

The organiser, Elkhan Mamedov, said they had delayed the event until eight o'clock in the evening, allowing time for Muslims celebrate Ramadan and break their fast before they came to the show.

A correspondent in Baku said all the seats in Baku's Lenin Concert Hall had been sold.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service