Looks Like “Fashion Jihad”: Islamization of So-Cal by Muhajababes?
28 January 2013
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Looks Like “Fashion Jihad”: Islamization of So-Cal by Muhajababes?
Oh no, what are those wily Mooslims up to again? Looks like they’re using the good ‘ole American entrepreneurial spirit to create stunning dresses, designed no doubt to Islamize what will soon be known as Caliphfornia.
Who is going to protect us from the Muhajababes when stealth Muslim president Barack Obama takes away our guns!? (h/t: CriticalDragon)
Islamic clothing is getting a bit more hip in Southern California.
Home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the nation, the Southland has become fertile ground for a new generation of designers crafting clothes for women who are limited by faith and conviction from flashing too much skin.
Although Muslim women have been dressing fashionably for years, many in the U.S. say they still face tricky challenges when getting dressed — and especially dressed up.
“We are Muslim and we can still express ourselves, be fashionable, as long as we do it in a halal way” or in keeping with Islamic law, said LaTanya Maassarani, 30, a postal carrier from Long Beach. “But unless you have lots of money or lots of time to shop, it’s been hard for years to find clothes in America that aren’t dowdy.”
Filling that void now are designers such as Afra Said-Ahmed and her sister Eiman Ahmed, both Muslims, who launched Irvine clothing company Mohajababes. The name is a mash up of the words “babe” and “Muhajiba,” or one who wears a hijab scarf.
“Trying to conform to Muslim dress codes, you get stuck in a rut of black, black, black all the time,” said Ahmed, 26. “It’s definitely very difficult, especially in the U.S. You want to fit in, but still be appropriately dressed.”
So she and her sister scraped together $2,000 and began selling caftans and rhinestone accessories for head scarves at the end of 2011. The line is modest — caftans sweep the floor and hang loosely on the body. Yet the jewel-colored clothing comes with feminine frills such as silky fabrics and metallic embroidery.
Said-Ahmed said their goal was to dress fashion-conscious shoppers who are faithful to Islamic mandates but want nothing to do with traditional black coverings such as abayas and burkas, which are too hot for the California sun.
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“Our ultimate goal is to sell in a department store like Bloomingdales andNordstrom,” she said. “Right now we are marketing toward our Muslim community because we know there’s a void, but many women would want a long-sleeved dress every now and then.”
Did you hear that, freaking Bloomingdales and Nordstrom!!
A distant cousin of mine in Malaysia, she’s a Muslim Malay, designs and runs a fashion shop in Kuala Lumpur for female Islamic headgear and clothing (Malaysian style) that is modest, yet fashionable and comprises some gorgeous materials. I hope that other Islamic nations will open up to the idea of more color than just black and white. Malay and Indonesia Muslim cultures are different than many of those in the Middle-East and Africa. Tolerance of cultural differences and finding the beauty in each culture instead of pointing out the faults is important for being internationally minded. Like everything in life, the key word is “balance.”
29 January 2013 at 11:48 am