Monday, September 20, 2010
Website sells Shariah-approved sex aids to Muslims
Website sells Shariah-approved sex aids to Muslims
September 7, 2010 -- Updated 1623 GMT (0023 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- El Asira says it is the world's first online shop for the "sexual health" of Muslims
- All the products have been vetted to be Shariah-compliant
- The owner, Abdelaziz Aouragh, says the shop is for the sexual health of Muslim couples
- Over 70,000 people visited the site in the first days after its launch
Amsterdam, The Netherlands (CNN) -- The El Asira home page is a discreet design with two simple links for men and women. The only clue to its content are the small blue and pink hearts at the top of the page.
El Asira says it is the world's first online shop for the "sexual health" of Muslim couples. Its website sells "kissable glamour creme for nipples and lips" and other products, mostly lubricants and herbal pills.
Each one of these has been vetted to be Shariah-compliant, says Abdelaziz Aouragh, the entrepreneur behind El Asira.
"The important thing is the research you have to do with the scholars, mainly in Saudi Arabia," Aouragh told CNN. "Our concerns are marketing, pictures, language, and for products that need to be consumed, the ingredients. So, the whole package actually, the marketing tools that you use carefully need to comply with Shariah."
Aouragh is adamant that the El Asira is not a "halal sex shop." Rather, he says, these are products designed for the discerning customer who wants to "invest in their sexual health" without being bombarded by the graphic images of sex-shop advertisers.
The whole package, the marketing tools that you use, carefully need to comply with Shariah.--Abdelaziz Aouragh, entrepreneur behind El Asira online sex shop
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"It's not a sex shop. Not at all," he said. "The philosophy behind El Asira is that we're focusing on sexual well being, sexual health of Muslim couples -- but also people who are non-Muslim."
The El Asira website has no images of nude women or men. In fact, there are no photos of people at all. Instead, the products are tastefully displayed with understated colors and designs.
On its opening day, El Asira was swamped with visitors, more than 70,000 in the first few days, temporarily overwhelming and shutting down the website. After adding capacity, El Asira is doing well with about 30,000 visits a week.
Aouragh seems bemused by all the attention he has received from Western media. Islam and sex are not incompatible at all, he says.
The site hopes to add lingerie soon and is considering opening a chain of boutique stores in the Middle East.
"Where do they think all the babies come from?" he said. "Knowing that in Mecca you can buy lingerie and buy certain sexual health products is enough. You can't get more halal than that.
Hijab on the Cutting Edge of Fashion
Though Belgium has moved to ban the burqa in public, CNN's Atika Shurbert found women there creating high-fashion hijab
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Muslim fashion: 'Anyone can wear these clothes'
Muslim fashion: 'Anyone can wear these clothes'
Riazat Butt meets the designer behind Elenany, a new fashion label for Muslim women that blends modesty and street cred
Hijab Style JANA KOSSAIBATI
Rabia Z shows at Arabian Fashion Week © Mark Brumell Photography
Hijab Style
JANA KOSSAIBATI, a medical student from London, is also the editor for Hijab Style; the UK's first style guide for Muslim women. Launched in September 2007, the blog aims to address the clothing needs of women who wish to dress modestly, as well as showcasing fashion from around the Muslim world. Jana attended the inaugural Arabian Fashion World event, in London this week, to report back for VOGUE.COM.
"Monday April 6 saw the first ever all-Arab fashion event staged at the InterContinental Hotel in Park Lane. The event, which brought together royalty, fashion industry buyers and media to view collections by designers from across the Arab world, opened with a rendition of the Lawrence of Arabia theme.
The first designer to send her models down the catwalk was Rabia Z. Based in the United Arab Emirates, her clothing is geared towards Muslim women wearing the hijab. Her urban-chic collection featured plenty of jersey harem pants, ruched tunics and draped hooded tops. Samira Haddouchi, meanwhile, offered modern interpretations of the Moroccan kaftan; vivid panelled prints and velvet capes combined to give an edge to fairy-tale dresses.
Renowned Saudi designer Amina Al-Jassim proved to the audience the breadth of her talent as she showcased a variety of modern casual wear and more traditional Arab gowns. One theme that was continuous was the use of traditional Bedouin silver which adorned waist belts and caps.
Menswear was also featured on the night, courtesy of Omar Kashoura - a Jordanian designer based in the UK. This was reflected in his relaxed pieces which focused on textured fabrics and neutral tones. Finally, Lebanese designer Abed Mahfouz's red-carpet gowns provided a stunning finale to what was a vibrant and innovative show and, with next year shaping up to be a three day event, it looks set to become a firm fixture on the Fashion Week calendar.
Muslim designers mix the hijab with latest fashions
Muslim designers mix the hijab with latest fashions
How do you combine Western fashion with a Muslim dress code?
Fashion is a form of self-expression. It's all about experimenting with looks and, in many cases, attracting attention.
The Islamic headscarf, or hijab, is exactly the opposite. It's about modesty and attracting as little attention as possible.
However, a growing number of Muslim women are successfully blending the two.
They get inspiration from the catwalk, the high street and fashion magazines, and they give it a hijab-friendly twist - making sure that everything except the face and hands are covered.
They are known as Hijabistas.
Jana Kossiabati is editor of the blog Hijab Style, which gets as many as 2,300 visits a day from across the world, including Africa, Middle East and the United States.
"I started two-and-a-half years ago," says Jana, who is British of Lebanese origin.
"I'd seen so many fashion blogs and so many Muslim blogs but hadn't seen anything specifically dedicated to the way Muslim women dress.
"I started my own site to bring together elements of what Muslim women are looking for and to make mainstream fashion wearable and relevant to them."
Sarah's range is sporty and features Islamic artJana says one of the reasons why so many young Muslim women are reading hijab fashion blogs is that the Muslim fashion industry is lacking inspiration.
"I get comments on my blog from people saying that the clothes offered to Muslim women are too Islamic looking - they look very ethnic, very foreign," says Jana.
"Young Muslims are increasingly looking for fashion that doesn't set them apart from the rest of society."
According to Jana, events such as 9/11 and 7/7 also had an effect on fashion-conscious Muslim women.
"Our generation became more aware of their identity when were thrust into the limelight after 9/11 and 7/7 and other events of the past decade or so. We were forced to deal with people questioning our faith, our identity and the way we look."
This may have prompted some women to choose to wear the hijab - but it also increased the urge among many young hijab-wearing women to fit in.
ExperimentationHana Tajima Simpson is a fashion designer who converted to Islam five years ago.
In the beginning, she found it very hard to find her own style while following hijab rules.
"I lost a lot of my personality through wearing the hijab at first. I wanted to stick to one mould and look a certain way," says Hana, who comes from a British and Japanese background.
"There was a certain idea I had in my head about how a Muslim woman should look which is the black Abaya (baggy dress and scarf), but I realised that this is not true and that I could experiment with my looks, while being modest.
"It took a lot of trial and error to a find a style and a look I'm happy with."
Hana regularly blogs about her designs at Style Covered. While all her clothes are suitable for women who wear the hijab, she says she doesn't design with a specific group of people in mind.
"Frankly I design for myself.
"I think about what I'd like to wear and design it. I have many non-Muslim customers as well, so my designs are not targeted at Muslims alone."
CelebrationDesigner Sarah Elenany's clothes are quite different from Hana's - more urban and sporty.
Hana believes hijab can be colourfulIslamic prints feature heavily on almost all of her outfits, including images of minarets and hands being extended to the heavens in prayer. They are religious, but far from traditional.
"My label is a celebration of Islamic culture and art and it's not apologetic. It says' this is it, this is us. I wanted to design prints and clothes that Muslims could look at and instantly identify with," says Sarah.
But doesn't the showy nature of fashion contradict the essence of Hijab?
Sarah disagrees. Fashion is about expression "and this is a legitimate part of Islam," she says.
Jana adds, "Islam doesn't prescribe rigid rules of colour or style it just says these are the areas you need to cover, the rest is really up to you."
HIJAB STYLE THE UK'S FIRST STYLE GUIDE FOR MUSLIM WOMEN
MONDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2009
Style Inspiration: Armine A/W 09-10
Each season, I anticipate the new collection from Turkish hijab brand Armine. I love the way they style their catalogue shots; the runway-inspired outfits are always so chic and modest.
For this Autumn-Winter collection, Armine featured plenty of double-breasted coats, swing jackets and feminine tailoring. I especially liked the delicate ruffles on the shirts and the layering of shorter sleeved jackets over long sleeve tops. You can view the whole catalogue here.
For this Autumn-Winter collection, Armine featured plenty of double-breasted coats, swing jackets and feminine tailoring. I especially liked the delicate ruffles on the shirts and the layering of shorter sleeved jackets over long sleeve tops. You can view the whole catalogue here.
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Friday, September 17, 2010
La presión islamista obliga a renombrar la discoteca La Meca
La presión islamista obliga a renombrar la discoteca La Meca
La web agita la guerra contra España por un club murciano de baile
JAVIER RUIZ - Murcia - 16/09/2010
26 votos
La discoteca La Meca existe desde hace más 20 años en la carretera de Calabardina, cerca de Águilas (Murcia) y lleva casi todo ese tiempo cerrada y abandonada. Pero este verano reabrió sus puertas y alguien se fijó en su imagen para inflamar los ánimos del mundo musulmán. Con su minarete y su cúpula azul, el local tiene la apariencia de una mezquita.
Un dueño admite: "Estamos abrumados. Nos ha sobrepasado"
Todo comenzó cuando un senegalés de fe musulmana se negó a trabajar como portero tras ver que en el interior del complejo había versos del Corán. El asunto fue recogido por un blog de la comunidad musulmana murciana y de ahí llegó a las manos de los radicales que han usado la polémica para movilizar al mundo islámico radical contra España.
Imágenes de la discoteca y de alguno de sus propietarios aparecieron en vídeos que se empezaron a distribuir coincidiendo con la crisis fronteriza de Melilla en agosto en canales como YouTube. En uno de ellos, además de llamar al boicot de los intereses españoles, se reproduce parte de la suraAl-Hajj del Corán que llama a la "demolición" de cualquier templo donde se "mencione el nombre de Dios en vano".
Los actuales inversores del complejo, que han estado en contacto permanente con las fuerzas de seguridad y han llegado a admitir que estaban aterrados por las circunstancias, consultaron con las dos principales organizaciones musulmanas de Murcia, que confirmaron que la inclusión de versos del Corán en las paredes de la discoteca era "una provocación". "No tanto por el nombre de la discoteca, que significa lugar de reunión sino por el intento de que su interior pareciera una mezquita", según la Federación islámica de la Región. Eso sí, para tranquilizar los ánimos de la amplia comunidad islámica de Murcia, ambas asociaciones han pedido "que solo se usen las vías judiciales y pacíficas" en este asunto.
La Coordinadora de la Sociedad Civil del Norte de Marruecos, organización convocante de las protestas en la frontera de Melilla en agosto, se sumó a las críticas. Acusó al PP de ser "el partido que promocionó y dio autorización al nombre de La Meca para una discoteca en una localidad costera de Murcia que gobierna este partido extremista". En Águilas, el alcalde, Juan Ramírez, y su gobierno son del PP. No han querido hacer declaraciones.
El colofón de esta escalada de amenazas se producía la semana pasada cuando la web oficial del local de ocio, www.discotecalameca.es, era hackeada por un pirata informático que exigía "el inmediato cambio del nombre de la discoteca" bajo la advertencia de que, de no hacerlo, "habrá una gran guerra entre España y el pueblo del Islam". El pirata insertó en la web un mensaje en el que decía: la denominación del local ha "atacado el corazón de todos los musulmanes del mundo".
Tras todos estos acontecimientos, y después de los contactos con líderes de las organizaciones islámicas de Murcia, los dueños del local han decidido cambiar su nombre. Ambas partes escenificarán el viernes su entendimiento en una rueda de prensa conjunta en la que anunciarán el cambio de nombre del local. Ya ha convocado un concurso de ideas.
El periodista aguileño Pedro Morata, uno de los cinco socios propietarios, admite que están "abrumados". "Para nosotros era una cosa anecdótica lo del nombre pero para ellos era un asunto muy fuerte. Nos ha sobrepasado. Vamos a arreglar un problema que ya estaba tomando un cariz exagerado, con una solución que no hiera sensibilidades". Ahora mismo, según Morata, se abren tres posibilidades: "Ellos nos han sugerido el cambio de nombre. Es una alternativa, las otras son quedarnos como estamos, o que cambie la imagen de la discoteca tal y como nos han pedido".
Los medios de comunicación del mundo musulmán se han hecho eco de este choque sobre el que también se ha pronunciado el embajador de Argelia, de visita estos días en Murcia. Las amenazas son "una broma de un iluminado", sostiene, pero añade: "No parece una idea brillante" llamar así a un local de ocio nocturno.
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Added On September 8, 2010