The 3rd

Islamic Solidarity Games The Islamic Solidarity Games ( ar, ألعاب التضامن الإسلامي) is a multinational, multi-sport event. The Games involve the elite athletes of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation who compete in a variety of sports. The Solidari ...

was an international sporting event held in Palembang,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

from 22 September to 1 October 2013. The 2009 event, originally scheduled to take place in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and later re-scheduled for April 2010, was cancelled after a dispute arose between Iran and the Arab countries.

Host selection

Indonesia was announced as the host for the Games on April 2011 with Pekanbaru,

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Acco ...

, as the host city. The Games were then relocated to Jakarta citing lack of standard in some venues combined with a corruption case involving Governor of Riau, Rusli Zainal. Palembang was finally selected as the host city and the Games were delayed about three months from the original time frame in June.

Venues

Participating nations

There are 57 nations participating in 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games.

Sports

Schedule

Medal table

Sports bikini controversy

The Games faced a controversy over female athletes competing in sports bikinis. Some participating nations demanded that all sportswomen competing in the athletics, beach volleyball and swimming events wear body-covering sporting outfits instead of the usual, functional and official sports bikinis regulated by international rules. In some countries of the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

, sporting suits for women called

burqini A burkini (or burqini; portmanteau of burqa and bikini, though qualifying as neither of these garments) is a style of swimsuit for women. The suit covers the whole body except the face, the hands and the feet, while being light enough for swim ...

, which cover the whole body except the face, the hands and the feet, are in use in accordance with Islamic culture. Furthermore, some countries asked the organizers to run the male and female events on separate days. Both regulations were applied in the first edition of the Games held in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

in 2005. The organizing committee refused to fully comply with the demands stating that only the countries ruled by Islamic governments among the 44 participants with Muslim population opposed the two-piece sporting outfits standardized in international sports dress code. The organizers ruled that the use of sports bikinis is set optional so that sportswomen may wear religious-based outfits.

References

External links

Official website
{{Events at the 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games Islamic Solidarity Games

2013 in Indonesian sport Solidarity Games Multi-sport events in Indonesia International sports competitions hosted by Indonesia