Muslim Magazine, a Platform for Promoting the Hijab
On just about every cover of Azizah, the first of a recent crop of American Muslim women's magazines, is a woman who wears the hijab, or head scarf.
The practice has drawn criticisms that Tayyibah Taylor, Azizah's publisher and editor, is perpetuating stereotypes that she herself wants eliminated.
But Taylor is unapologetic: she wants the magazine to be instantly recognisable as a Muslim magazine and sees it as a platform for rehabilitating the hijab as well as redefining Muslim women at a time when many feel misrepresented.
Azizah, which means "dear" or "strong" in Arabic, was launched in 2000 and blends profiles of prominent Muslim women with articles on fashion, food, health, travel and spirituality. And it may be coming to Australia, with discussions under way for an international edition incorporating stories on local Muslim women.
The current edition of the quarterly glossy, which has a US circulation of about 40,000, features the world's first private female space tourist, Anousheh Ansari, as well as articles on Muslim women lawyers, domestic violence (or ways to achieve domestic bliss) and "womb wellness".
"For centuries, particularly within Muslim majority countries, women have been defined by men …" said Taylor, who is visiting Sydney as part of the US consulate's speakers program.
"Here is an opportunity to define ourselves."
When Muslim women read Azizah, usually it is their first experience of seeing positive images of Muslim women, she said.
If Muslims believe they have been unfairly maligned by Islam's association with the terrorist acts of a zealous minority, then its women are the most visible targets of misunderstanding.
"In Muslim majority countries and elsewhere, the Muslim woman is seen as a victim, either the victim of men or the victim of religion," Taylor said.
"I can't speak of Australia, but the constant portrayal is of a Muslim woman in negative circumstances, someone to be pitied, someone to fear but not someone to emulate. That seeps into the consciousness of the public and the women who are portrayed that way."
Taylor, a Canadian of Caribbean descent who converted to Islam at the age of 15, said that in this environment, the hijab had unfairly become an "alien marker" signifying restriction and restraint.
Yet increasingly, young Muslim women saw it as a "statement of womanhood" and an acknowledgement of intelligence over physical appearance.
It is not just public opinion Taylor is seeking to turn around. Azizah is trying to attract advertising dollars from the mainstream corporate sector. The magazine has just signed up Ikea and hopes others will see business sense in talking to the women of one of the fastest growing faiths in the US.
The Age, Australia
But Taylor is unapologetic: she wants the magazine to be instantly recognisable as a Muslim magazine and sees it as a platform for rehabilitating the hijab as well as redefining Muslim women at a time when many feel misrepresented.
Azizah, which means "dear" or "strong" in Arabic, was launched in 2000 and blends profiles of prominent Muslim women with articles on fashion, food, health, travel and spirituality. And it may be coming to Australia, with discussions under way for an international edition incorporating stories on local Muslim women.
The current edition of the quarterly glossy, which has a US circulation of about 40,000, features the world's first private female space tourist, Anousheh Ansari, as well as articles on Muslim women lawyers, domestic violence (or ways to achieve domestic bliss) and "womb wellness".
"For centuries, particularly within Muslim majority countries, women have been defined by men …" said Taylor, who is visiting Sydney as part of the US consulate's speakers program.
"Here is an opportunity to define ourselves."
When Muslim women read Azizah, usually it is their first experience of seeing positive images of Muslim women, she said.
If Muslims believe they have been unfairly maligned by Islam's association with the terrorist acts of a zealous minority, then its women are the most visible targets of misunderstanding.
"In Muslim majority countries and elsewhere, the Muslim woman is seen as a victim, either the victim of men or the victim of religion," Taylor said.
"I can't speak of Australia, but the constant portrayal is of a Muslim woman in negative circumstances, someone to be pitied, someone to fear but not someone to emulate. That seeps into the consciousness of the public and the women who are portrayed that way."
Taylor, a Canadian of Caribbean descent who converted to Islam at the age of 15, said that in this environment, the hijab had unfairly become an "alien marker" signifying restriction and restraint.
Yet increasingly, young Muslim women saw it as a "statement of womanhood" and an acknowledgement of intelligence over physical appearance.
It is not just public opinion Taylor is seeking to turn around. Azizah is trying to attract advertising dollars from the mainstream corporate sector. The magazine has just signed up Ikea and hopes others will see business sense in talking to the women of one of the fastest growing faiths in the US.
The Age, Australia
