The Muslim barbie doll Fulla is selling extremely well this year in the middle east. This article talks about Fulla and the rejuvance of Islamisation in Arab culture and society. I even find in Canada, it is easier to be open about being a devout Muslim among peers (work or school) than it was when I was growing up. Suddenly, going to Islamic conferences and listening to Islamic scholars is common and you no longer have to hide this fact. This is my personal experience growing up in Brampton, I don't want to generalize this to everyone else.
For the people who are too lazy to read the article, here are some interesting tidbits:
Islamic commerce is fairly popular these days. The Islamic t-shirts is one such example. You can buy t-shirts that provide an Islamic flavour on a pop culture item. For example, one t-shirt I saw had the slogan "juma", which is a play off of the puma logo, containing a conture guy with a beard and a prayer hat. Check it out here. It could be my time now to cash in on my Gingerbread Muslim brother and sister idea.
- "Fulla sells better because it is closer to our Arab values."
- "Her wardrobe had to be widened to adapt to the Egyptian market. In other words, she became more modern," said Ahmed, a sales clerk at City Stars, Cairo's largest shopping mall.
Fulla can now dress her perfect albeit slightly less busty figure with tight t-shirts and jeans and wear the same colourful head scarves donned by most young Egyptian women today."
- "Islamic fashion is now something to be cashed in on."
I am thinking about buying the Muslim Barbie for my little niece Zaynub. Every time she sees me, she runs away from me. This could be my opportunity to buy her love and probably have me nominated for the chacha (uncle) of the year award.
11 comments:
Your in competition when it comes to Zaynubs love ;)
Thoughts:
How about giving the Barbie a hijab and converting her to a Muslim? Call her Sister Barbie doll..hehe...we wouldn't need Fulla then. Of course we would have brother Ken too who would be SIster Barbie's Husband :-D
I hate those t-shirts. A couple of years ago, I bought two Palestinian t-shirts with the slogans "Free Palestine" and "End the Occupation". I am reluctant to wear those shirts now, and actually regret buying them.
I don't know, I feel that when something so important as one's religion or a cause such as the Palestinian one is relegated to a t-shirt or bumper sticker it loses significant value.
I think I share in some of what Omair said. I'm not a big fan of wearing religious or political slogans or expressing my religious, political or other beliefs through articles of clothing and the like.
I don't know though if my primary reason is that such causes (Islam, Palestine, Jesus, fair trade, whatever you like) lose their value when relegated to T-shirts or wristbands. I suppose they do. But my reason for not expressing support this way is that I really don't see the point.
What am I trying to show by wearing a T-shirt that says "Juma" or "Free Palestine"? That I'm a Muslim? A Palestinian rights supporter? Sure, but who the hell cares, and why should anyone care? What am I trying to prove, and how is it helping whatever cause I choose to parade around?
S: Zaynub is a demanding a niece, she will make you poor, I recommend you give up now ;-)
H: We would have to make Sister Barbie a teacher and Ken would obviously a doctor, otherwise parents would not buy such toys.
Omair and Ali,
I have to disagree with both of you on this one. I have no problems with the t-shirts. The t-shirts represent a way for someone to express themselves or bring attention to a subject. Even though an important cause such as Palestine is printed on a t-shirt, it does not make it less significant. Are we going to stop talking the Palestine issue cause its on a t-shirt or since its its printed on a t-shirt, it is now a “t-shirt” issue, and less important … this is all ridiculous.
In-fact the t-shirts would bring more attention to the subject, get the word out. You see t-shirts on stopping poverty; it’s another medium use to get their message out. It may not help solve the issue, but some people like to express themselves this way.
These t-shirts also are a way for people to identify themselves as Muslims. Besides these types of t-shirts with the catchy phrases are "in", similar to the t-shirts Sania Mirza is wearing. If you wanna be fashionable and you keep it halal, I have no issue.
Just wanna make sure that chacha earns his love. Don't fail to check that your niece really likes hard doll.
There are kids (like me) who are afraid of hard face dolls. Even for the prettiness of Barbie/Fulla, I never want one.
I was offered but I declined it. Eventually I still got one. I had to turn around or the doll had to. So the eyes won't be looking at me.
It is so much the realness in the doll that some kids may not like it. So check before you buy, you may not want your niece to run farther from you.
But if she likes it, aw ... she's just gonna love ya.
It's true that kids are really picky when it comes to playing with toys. Last year I remember my niece got like five new bears for her birthday, but she did not play with any of them. Instead, she chose to continue to use her old bear that smelled, had facial features ripping off, and was just plain ugly. It's interesting that kids are sentimental to their belongings, because as you grow up, we are all about, “in with the new and out with the old.”
Thanks Twinnie for the advice, it would probably be a good idea for me to keep the receipt.
I have friends that love puma,
I sort of..hadnt really heard about it before I came here..
Anyways YES THE TOTAL FOB THAT I AM, lol..
I think ..JUMA is better than PUMA,
young kids want to express themselves, if they can do that with Islamic printed material on their clothing isnt it in a way better?
I myself wear a shirt that says "Hijab" in the front and "Its all good in the hood" in the back ;)..Asad bhai got it for me at an Islamic exhibition. Its nice to be expressive sometimes, better than wearing logos like "LAMB" or "GAP" some of which are even marred by the possibility that they were made in sweat shops.
However logos in general attract unwanted attention..so I guess its better in the first place to be modest and wear simple clothing.
LOL ... Saira, never would have thought you would be such a violent kid with the barbie bashing. As soon as you mentioned:
run her over with my bros tonka trunks
I had a flashback to my childhood. I remembered I played endlessly with my Transformers, Thundercats, and Nintendo video games. One summer when I was in Pakistan, my cousins were excitingly playing video games on their newly bought Nintendo.
Well, I had just bought a Super Nintendo, so being the spoiled kid from Ka-na-da, I remarked,
I just finished that game like 2 years ago, Nintendo is old, I have Super Nintendo, I am not going to play that game.
I was being a jerk, but I had to admit, they were still nice to me. My cousins probably think now that everytime we send them stuff from Canada, its must be outdated ... end of my random flashback.
forgot to mention ...
in with the new and out with the old.
It did sound odd when I wrote it, but atleast I did not say
in with the old and out with the new.
That would qualify as a bushism.
she chose to continue to use her old bear that smelled, had facial features ripping off, and was just plain ugly.
I'm "somewhat" like your niece. I have this 18 years old bear with me, thr school and trips and many moments.
Scary even I said his age 18 to myself again?! Even my stuffed bear has reached the end of his teenage years, almost. mwahhahha ..
I don't think your niece would appreciate another new doll/bear yet. I just know. Save your money.
Thundercats! That just stirs up my fond memories. I remember my bro and I would go buy these silver packaging bag of stickers and go exchange with friends. What a waste of money when I think back. But it's all good memories.
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