American Idol = Afghan Star = Islamist Party Pooper

Fans clamor for Afghan Star.

Needless to say the Islamists are not happy with the idea.

Hundreds of fans clamored to get a glimpse of their favorites in the final of Afghan Star on Tuesday, Afghanistan's version of Pop Idol which is watched by millions but condemned by Islamic clerics as immoral.

The finalists, two men and for the first time a woman, will appear in Friday's competition, where one will be eliminated before the last show to decide the winner a week later.

Kabul's Islamic council of clerics has branded the show un-Islamic and demanded it be taken off the air.

"Afghan Star encourages immorality among the people and is against Sharia law," the council said earlier this year.

More about the first woman contestant. Don't be looking for Shakira type moves when she's singing her "Pashtun Oldies"

Lima Sahar is a Pashtun, the ethnic group which forms the backbone of Taliban support, and she is also from the southern city of Kandahar, the movement's main former stronghold. Most women in the south seldom venture outdoors and when they do, only in the all-enveloping blue burqa. The raunchy dance routines of would-be Western stars are absent in her act. Instead, Sahar sways only imperceptibly as she sings Pashtun oldies, her face under heavy make-up and headscarf loosely hung over a bundle of glittered hair.

No surprise here. Like an Obama candidacy, Afghan Star voting follows "ethnic lines."

Voting appears to have followed ethnic lines with the finalists representing Afghanistan's three biggest ethnic groups; Sahar the majority Pashtuns, Rafi Nabzada the Tajiks of the north and Hamed Sakhizada, the Shi'ite Hazara minority.
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