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| Britain |
| Muslim lifetstyle mag goes mainstream |
| 2005-10-14 |
| Britain's first Muslim lifestyle magazine has gone mainstream, with its editor eager to boost the self-confidence of an embattled community and counteract negative stereotypes after the London suicide bomb attacks. "We are on the faultline of international politics and under the gaze of 24-hour news media," said Sarah Joseph whose glossy magazine has now gone on sale nationwide at bookstores and supermarkets. "Either we collapse under this weight or after darkness there comes light," said the editor of Emel -- Arabic for hope. Joseph is well qualified to bridge the ethnic divide. Born and brought up a Catholic, she converted to Islam at the age of 16 and later agreed to an arranged marriage to Mahmud, a human rights lawyer whose parents came to Britain from Bangladesh in the 1960s. When Muslims faced a backlash after the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001, she and her husband toured Britain, lecturing everywhere from community halls to synagogues in a bid to break down cultural barriers. Then in July, Islamist militants based in Britain launched suicide attacks on three London underground trains and a bus. Fifty-two people were killed. The attacks threw a glaring spotlight on Britain's 1.6 million Muslims with much questioning of a community where radical preachers bred hatred among impressionable young listeners. Joseph fervently believes fear and tension breed isolation. It is vital, she said, to present a positive image of an overwhelmingly moderate community ready to be "stakeholders" in a modern Britain. She believes the magazine, with its mixture of fashion, food, travel articles and polemical commentaries, can, in its small way, help to dispel mistrust. "It is about instilling self-confidence in Muslims and breaking down cliches and stereotypes -- this idea of violence being endemic and intrinsic to the Muslim psyche, this presumption that women are oppressed, that we are fanatics." "We offer a mix of features and big interviews from a Muslim couple who run a soup kitchen for the homeless to lifestyle pieces about food, fashion, sport, travel and gadgets," she said. After its low-key launch two years ago, the magazine was only available in Muslim bookshops but gradually built up its readership by subscription and word of mouth recommendation. Now its distribution has gone nationwide for the first time. Joseph, who has built up the magazine's circulation to about 20,000 in 30 countries, has no illusions about Britain where Islamophobic hate attacks rose after the bombings. "I am not looking through rose-coloured spectacles. There are a number of people who are disruptive and destructive in our midst. But they are a tiny number and we are going to find them out. "After the 7/7 attacks in London, Londoners did rally round. We are a diverse city and there is this sense of sticking together. It is calming down and I think we are moving on." |
| Posted by:Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World |
| #2 A mythical moderate Muslim? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-10-14 21:58 |
| #1 I say go for it - mainstream Muslims outside of Britain need all the help they can get narrowing the wide wide wide wealth/influence gap and ceilings between the average Muslim, aka the many, versus the Ruling elites, aka the Few. The American way is still gener to prefer to win "hearts-and-minds" first before calling in the Marines, Cavalry, and the IOWA-class BB's. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-10-14 21:44 |