Barbie hasnt a prayer against devout Islam doll
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2003829,00.html
SHE has enchanted little girls for decades around the globe, but Barbie, the worlds bestselling doll, is being elbowed off the toy shelves in the Arab world by an Islamic playmate called Fulla.
In this battle of the Barbies, dark-eyed Fulla shares roughly the same physique as her western counterpart her breasts, says one reviewer, are modestly smaller but she is covered in a black abaya, or robe, and a matching black headscarf.
She has her own prayer mat in pink felt and in the words of NewBoy Design Studio, her Syrian-based creators, espouses Muslim values that will probably conspire against her following Barbies footsteps into space exploration, politics or the Olympics.
Her manufacturers have expressed an interest in marketing her in France, where the dolls are already changing hands over the internet among the countrys large Muslim community.
However, this has prompted fears of a fundamentalist plot to propagate the wearing of the veil in a country that has banned it from schools.
This doll is an Islamist strategy, said Catherine Costa- Lascaut, a sociologist who belongs to a committee that championed opposition to the veil in the classroom.
It is a very clever one. They (the manufacturer) will try to generate a craze and it will be difficult to stop. The doll has one main advantage which is that it touches children. They reach right into the home.
Albert Samuel, a historian, was deeply concerned about the arrival of prayer-mat Barbie. Referring to the riots that erupted recently in predominantly Muslim districts on the periphery of several big French cities, he said: It is a dangerous game just when things are calming down.
If children do not resemble each other, at least in their games, if their games separate them, Barbie doll against Muslim doll, society will be divided because the unity of the nation starts with the unity of its children.
Fulla is not the first veiled doll to appear on the market and Mattel, Barbies manufacturer, once produced a Moroccan Barbie as well as a doll called Leila who was meant to be a Muslim slave girl in an Ottoman court. Iran has a veiled doll called Sara; and Razanne, made by a Michigan company, is popular among Muslims in Britain and America.
None, however, can compete with Fulla, who first appeared in 2003. Since then Barbie, who was launched in 1959, has all but disappeared from toy shops in the Middle East. In Egypt, Jordan and Qatar the craze for her Islamic counterpart has extended to Fulla breakfast cereal, chewing gum and even bicycles.
Advertising on Arab satellite television channels shows Fulla saying her prayers at sunrise, baking a cake for Yasmeen, her friend, or reading a book at bedtime. When you take Fulla out of the house, dont forget her new spring abaya, says one of the advertisements, referring to a lighter weight black robe. Fullas tiny prayer mat is also available in a larger size for the dolls owner.
A spokesman for the manufacturer attributed Fullas success to a character that appeals to parents: Shes honest, loving and caring and she respects her father and mother.
She will never have a boyfriend like Barbies Ken, or the Australian surfer called Blaine who is one of Barbies more recent playmates, but a Doctor Fulla and a Teacher Fulla are expected soon. These are two respected careers for women that we would like to encourage small girls to follow, said the spokesman.
Beyond symbolising the ideal Muslim woman, Fulla also reflects a growing trend towards the commercialisation of Islam by entrepreneurs who have realised the gains to be made in selling Islamic values.
Barbie will no doubt keep her market in France but she was always at a bit of a disadvantage in the Arab world. Declaring that her provocative clothing was offensive to Islam, Saudia Arabias religious police had branded her as a Jewish toy and a symbol of decadence.
The banning of the doll ensured the creation of a thriving Barbie black market in Saudi Arabia at least until the more modest Fulla appeared on the scene.
Were very happy, said a spokesman for the producers. We are looking forward to going global.
Comment:
All ways of life e.g. Capitalism influence popular culture, media, pop songs and toys to mention but a few areas with the sole objective of propagating their values and way of life. The Barbie doll has been an example of this e.g. they way she is dressed, her independence, her figure, her boy freinds etc.
So why is when Muslims want to pass Islamic ideas of dress and values to their female children by using a doll which adheres to the Islamic dress code and ethics of behaviour why is it the western thinkers who believe in freedom have a problem with this and make accusations of Islamic fundamentalist plots?
Can we Muslims also not do the same thing which they are doing by accusing the original Barbie of being a Capitalist western plot against Islamic values which has sought to corrupt young Muslim girls?
I would like to hear other views on this topic. thank u all in advance.
Also i feel that the west is happy for Muslim countries to export goods like dolls from the west and help the western economies to grow and become strong, but when Muslims seek to do things for ourselves which will strengthen our economies and simultaneosly damage western economies their is an outcry from the the west who claim to believe in an economic free market, lol.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2003829,00.html
SHE has enchanted little girls for decades around the globe, but Barbie, the worlds bestselling doll, is being elbowed off the toy shelves in the Arab world by an Islamic playmate called Fulla.
In this battle of the Barbies, dark-eyed Fulla shares roughly the same physique as her western counterpart her breasts, says one reviewer, are modestly smaller but she is covered in a black abaya, or robe, and a matching black headscarf.
She has her own prayer mat in pink felt and in the words of NewBoy Design Studio, her Syrian-based creators, espouses Muslim values that will probably conspire against her following Barbies footsteps into space exploration, politics or the Olympics.
Her manufacturers have expressed an interest in marketing her in France, where the dolls are already changing hands over the internet among the countrys large Muslim community.
However, this has prompted fears of a fundamentalist plot to propagate the wearing of the veil in a country that has banned it from schools.
This doll is an Islamist strategy, said Catherine Costa- Lascaut, a sociologist who belongs to a committee that championed opposition to the veil in the classroom.
It is a very clever one. They (the manufacturer) will try to generate a craze and it will be difficult to stop. The doll has one main advantage which is that it touches children. They reach right into the home.
Albert Samuel, a historian, was deeply concerned about the arrival of prayer-mat Barbie. Referring to the riots that erupted recently in predominantly Muslim districts on the periphery of several big French cities, he said: It is a dangerous game just when things are calming down.
If children do not resemble each other, at least in their games, if their games separate them, Barbie doll against Muslim doll, society will be divided because the unity of the nation starts with the unity of its children.
Fulla is not the first veiled doll to appear on the market and Mattel, Barbies manufacturer, once produced a Moroccan Barbie as well as a doll called Leila who was meant to be a Muslim slave girl in an Ottoman court. Iran has a veiled doll called Sara; and Razanne, made by a Michigan company, is popular among Muslims in Britain and America.
None, however, can compete with Fulla, who first appeared in 2003. Since then Barbie, who was launched in 1959, has all but disappeared from toy shops in the Middle East. In Egypt, Jordan and Qatar the craze for her Islamic counterpart has extended to Fulla breakfast cereal, chewing gum and even bicycles.
Advertising on Arab satellite television channels shows Fulla saying her prayers at sunrise, baking a cake for Yasmeen, her friend, or reading a book at bedtime. When you take Fulla out of the house, dont forget her new spring abaya, says one of the advertisements, referring to a lighter weight black robe. Fullas tiny prayer mat is also available in a larger size for the dolls owner.
A spokesman for the manufacturer attributed Fullas success to a character that appeals to parents: Shes honest, loving and caring and she respects her father and mother.
She will never have a boyfriend like Barbies Ken, or the Australian surfer called Blaine who is one of Barbies more recent playmates, but a Doctor Fulla and a Teacher Fulla are expected soon. These are two respected careers for women that we would like to encourage small girls to follow, said the spokesman.
Beyond symbolising the ideal Muslim woman, Fulla also reflects a growing trend towards the commercialisation of Islam by entrepreneurs who have realised the gains to be made in selling Islamic values.
Barbie will no doubt keep her market in France but she was always at a bit of a disadvantage in the Arab world. Declaring that her provocative clothing was offensive to Islam, Saudia Arabias religious police had branded her as a Jewish toy and a symbol of decadence.
The banning of the doll ensured the creation of a thriving Barbie black market in Saudi Arabia at least until the more modest Fulla appeared on the scene.
Were very happy, said a spokesman for the producers. We are looking forward to going global.
Comment:
All ways of life e.g. Capitalism influence popular culture, media, pop songs and toys to mention but a few areas with the sole objective of propagating their values and way of life. The Barbie doll has been an example of this e.g. they way she is dressed, her independence, her figure, her boy freinds etc.
So why is when Muslims want to pass Islamic ideas of dress and values to their female children by using a doll which adheres to the Islamic dress code and ethics of behaviour why is it the western thinkers who believe in freedom have a problem with this and make accusations of Islamic fundamentalist plots?
Can we Muslims also not do the same thing which they are doing by accusing the original Barbie of being a Capitalist western plot against Islamic values which has sought to corrupt young Muslim girls?
I would like to hear other views on this topic. thank u all in advance.
Also i feel that the west is happy for Muslim countries to export goods like dolls from the west and help the western economies to grow and become strong, but when Muslims seek to do things for ourselves which will strengthen our economies and simultaneosly damage western economies their is an outcry from the the west who claim to believe in an economic free market, lol.
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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