MUSLIM FASHION DOLL
Toy bears image of inner beauty, modesty
By Tarek El-Tablawy
The Associated Press
LIVONIA, Mich. - At first glance, this new
girl on the block doesn't give Barbie much of a run for her money. After
all, Barbie is everything Razanne is not - curvaceous, flashy and loaded
with sex appeal.
But that's exactly why many Muslim Americans prefer Razanne, with her long-sleeved
dresses, head scarf and, by creator Ammar Saadeh's own description, a not-so-buxom
bustline. For Saadeh, the doll not only fills a marketing void but also
offers Muslim girls someone they can relate to.
"The main message we try to put forward through the doll is that what matters
is what's inside you, not how you look," said Saadeh, who set up noorart
Inc. with his wife and a few other investors. The Livonia-based company,
founded about seven years ago, sells the Razanne doll and a number of other
toys geared toward Muslim children. "It doesn't matter if you're tall or
short, thin or fat, beautiful or not, the real beauty seen by God and fellow
Muslims is what's in your soul," he said.
What sets Razanne apart from her few competitors is that she "holds a global
appeal for Muslim girls," Saadeh said. That image encouraged Mimo Debryn
of West Bloomfield Township to buy the doll for her daughter, Jenna, four
years ago. "Razanne looks like the majority of women around Jenna," Debryn
said. "She loves that doll and always took care of her, giving Razanne a
special place in her room, treating her with respect. "Jenna never tried
to take Razanne's hijab [head scarf] off, though Barbie was usually stripped
naked," she said as her daughter, 11, curled up on the couch and smiled.
In the United States, Mattel, which makes Barbie, markets a Moroccan Barbie
and sells a collector's doll named Leyla. Leyla's elaborate costume and
tale of being taken as a slave in the court of a Turkish sultan are intended
to convey the tribulations of one Muslim girl in the 1720s."It's no surprise
that they'd try to portray a Middle Eastern Barbie either as a belly dancer
or a concubine," said Saadeh, adding that countering such stereotypes was
one of his main aims in developing Razanne.
Mattel didn't respond to repeated calls seeking comment. Laila, the Arab
League's answer to Barbie, offered girls of the league's 22-member states
a culturally acceptable alternative to Barbie's flashy lifestyle. But she
never made it to store shelves. Sara and Dara were launched a couple of
years ago - Iran's version of Barbie and her beau, Ken. The two were offshoots
of a children's cartoon in Iran. Saadeh hopes to capture the broad Middle
East market. Razanne will soon be marketed in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates
and make greater inroads in southeast Asia.
The doll is sold throughout the United States, Canada, Singapore and Germany.
Saadeh would not reveal the doll's sales figures, but he said retail sales
over the company's Web site account for a majority of the almost 30,000
dolls sold per year. Prices range from $9.99 for a single doll to $24.99
for a set such as Teacher Razanne, which includes a briefcase and other
accessories. Saudi Arabia's religious police recently declared Barbie dolls
a threat to morality, complaining that the revealing clothes are offensive
to Islam. "Razanne represents to Muslim girls that they have options, goals
and dreams and the ability to realize them," Debryn said.
Jenna, who recently donned the veil after much soul-searching, said Razanne
makes her "feel more comfortable about being a Muslim girl."
Razanne's vital stats Her build | The doll
has the body of a preteen.
Physical characteristics
| The doll comes in three types: fair-skinned blonde, olive-skinned with
dark hair, or dark-skinned brunette.
What's next
| On the drawing board for future dolls are Dr. Razanne and possibly Astronaut
Razanne. There's also Muslim Girl Scout Razanne, which has a cassette recording
of the Muslim Scout's oath.
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