In our ongoing efforts to catalog the sexiest women on earth, it's been brought to our attention that there is one part of the world AskMen.com has largely ignored: the Arab World. Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean eastward across Africa to the Arabian Sea, and south from the Mediterranean Sea to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean, the Arab World encompasses 25 Arabic-speaking countries. The League of Arab States, an association that includes 22 of those countries as members, defines an Arab as "a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic-speaking country, who is the citizen of an Arab country, whose father is an Arab, and who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic-speaking peoples." However, for the purposes of creating the most comprehensive list possible, AM has cast a wider net. We couldn't ignore hotties of Arab descent living abroad.
Here are some of the hottest women to come out of the Arab World. Enjoy. Discuss. Debate.
Jenna Dewan
Jenna Dewan is just the first of many women of Lebanese descent on this list -- as Neil Patrick Harris’ character, Barney, declared on How I Met Your Mother: "Lebanese is the new half-Asian." Jenna began her career as a dancer touring with Janet Jackson and Ricky Martin, and later appeared in videos for Justin Timberlake and Mandy Moore, among others. A few years ago, her professional credits gained a hyphen with the addition of "actress" to her resume. Most notably, she starred in the 2006 dance drama Step Up alongside her now-husband (and our sworn enemy) Channing Tatum. Jenna is definitely the cutest and most flexible girl from the Arab World that we've seen.
Karima Adebibe
British model Karima Adebibe hit the world stage in 2006, when she was announced as the new muse for the video game heroine Lara Croft -- the seventh woman to fill this role. Born in London, England, Karima is of Moroccan, Irish and Greek descent. Clearly all of those disparate genetic parts have come together to create a vortex of hotness. Aside from the Tomb Raider fantasy, Karima cuts an intimidating figure. Her facial features are soft and sexy, but have no doubt, she could crush you between her powerful, athletic thighs. At least we'd like to let her try.
May Hariri
This sexy Lebanese singer's smokey eyes and smokin' hot body has put her at the top of most people's lists as one of the sexiest women in Lebanon. She launched her musical career in 2004, with the release of the hit single "Ha Sahhar Ouyounou." To date, May Hariri has released five albums over the last five years. Though she is most definitely hot, May makes our list with the caveat the she does not cosmetically change how she currently looks -- there are rumors (started by people who have seen her face, we're sure) that she's undergone plastic surgery. If she’s not careful, May could easily go from being one of Lebanon's most beautiful women to a Jocelyn Wildenstein look-a-like
Haifa Wehbe
Lebanese pop star Haifa is the Madonna of the Middle East -- Madonna Ciccone, not Mary of Nazareth. Mary would, of course, be the Madonna of the Middle East, but Haifa is the other one. An international superstar who is virtually unknown in North America, Haifa Wehbe">Haifa Wehbe began her show business career as a teenage model. At 16 years old, she was crowned Miss South Lebanon. It would be a 12-year-long journey from pageant to concert stage, but with the release of first album in 2002, Haifa became a musical sensation. In 2006, she was the opening act for 50 Cent's first concert in Beirut. That same year, she was listed as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People, and was declared No. 49 of AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women. Her absence from that list in the three years that have followed is simply an unfortunate oversight, we assure you.
Nadine Njeim
Miss Lebanon 2007, Nadine Njeim is a cut above other pageant beauties. According to the bio on her official website, Nadine likes extreme sports, reading and singing jazz. But what makes her so dig-able in our eyes is her work as a paramedic for the Lebanese Red Cross. We would happily spend some time in a refugee camp just to have Miss Lebanon toss us a jug of fresh water. OK, that's an inappropriate and wrong-headed statement, but she is just so stupid-hot. Oh, and did we mention she's a patriot?
Valerie Dominguez
Born in Barranquilla, of Syrian and Lebanese descent, Valerie Dominguez was crowned Miss Colombia in 2005. She went on to represent Colombia at the 2006 Miss Universe competition, where she was a top 10 finalist. Frankly, it's hard to believe that any pageant could have nine women more beautiful than Valerie. Since leaving the pageant world, she has moved into an acting career, most recently playing Barbara Mantilla in the popular Colombian telenovela El Último Matrimonio Feliz.Valerie's cousin is wiggly hipped pop star Shakira.
Leila Bekhti
25-year-old French actress Leila Bekhti first caught our eye in the 2006 film Paris, je t'aime. She played the cute Muslim girl, Zarka, in the "Quais de Seine" segment of the film. In that six-minute segment, she's cute, funny, sardonic, and alluring. This actress of Algerian descent is on her way up. Her latest film, Un prophète, recently won the Grand Jury prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival and has just been selected as France's official entry for the Oscars. When this film is released Stateside this February, there's no doubt that sexy Leila's star will rise, meaning plenty of scantily clad spreads in lad magazines to look forward to.
Yamila Diaz-Rahi
Born in Buenas Aires, Yamila Diaz-Rahi is of Lebanese and Spanish descent. A talent scout discovered Yamila while she was vacationing in Uruguay in 1996. Prior to this unexpected detour into a modeling career, Yamila was studying economics in Argentina. To date, she's appeared on the covers of Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Glamour, and Elle, and was the first Latina spokesmodel for Cover Girl. However, she's probably best known for her work with Victoria's Secret, with the likes of Heidi Klum, and her eight appearances in Sports Illustrated's annual Swimsuit Issue. With her long dark hair, full lips and statuesque physique, Yamila is one of nature's great works of art.
Hoda Fadel
Lebanese cutie Hoda Fadel does it all: she's a model, entrepreneur and broadcaster. In 2008, Fadel covered the celebrity health and beauty beat as one of the hosts of Ghazl El Banat (aka Candy Girls) for Rotana Music TV. She stood out among the three women hosts as the cute girl you wouldn't mind taking to the club. She cemented her status as a party girl earlier this year when she and her sister Fida danced topless in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada at Burning Man '09. Older sister Fida is also a sought-after model, but it's Hoda's charm and relatability that trumps her sister for our list.
