Rima Fakih, Cool on Ground Zero Mosque, Vies for Miss Universe Title

(Aug. 23) -- Whether a politician or a beauty pageant contestant, the burdens of representing an entire country should not be underestimated.

Rima Fakih, the first Arab-American to win the Miss USA title, will walk the stage at tonight's Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas on behalf of a country that has been embroiled in a controversy over the proposed construction of an Islamic cultural center just blocks from the site of the 9/11 terror attacks in lower Manhattan.

Fakih, who is currently fasting from sunrise to sunset for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, has directly weighed in on the controversy of building a mosque near ground zero.

"I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on the constitutional rights of freedom of religion," Fakih, who was born in Lebanon before her family relocated to Dearborn, Mich., told "Inside Edition." She added, "It shouldn't be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion."

Just how that centrist line on the cultural center controversy will help or hurt her chances of winning the pageant remains to be seen. Perhaps more important, however, will be the rather flashy outfit that Fakih plans to don during tonight's festivities, which air at 9 p.m. EDT on NBC. Part Victoria's Secret Angel, part Wonder Woman patriot, here's a preview of the All-American get up.