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U.S. Muslims Seek Alternatives to American Products
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
(12:25 PM ET)
By Andrew Stern
Reuters

"Naturally, in the post-Sept. 11 environment, Muslim-branded products are going to be favored a little bit," Harvard Business School marketing professor John Quelch said, referring to a curiosity about Islamic culture among Muslims and non-Muslims in light of the past year's events. "But there's another segment that sees the melting pot of the U.S. as entirely feasible. There may be a slight tension between those who favor integration in their buying behavior or behavior in general, and those who assert their cultural and religious orientation," Quelch said.

CHICAGO -- Reuters
Sales of Islamic-oriented books, videotapes and toys are growing as an expanding U.S. Muslim community seeks more austere alternatives to what some perceive as American excess.

Amid America's cornucopia of consumer offerings, Muslims can choose from an array of Islamic products offered on the Web, including a demure doll whose Arabic name means "the modest woman." Many Muslim parents shy away from toys that contain violent or sensual imagery, Muslim marketers say.

Sales of Muslim-styled products have received a somewhat unlikely boost from the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, allegedly masterminded by Islamic extremist and Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, and the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan that followed.

Interest has intensified in all things Islamic, especially books describing Muslim culture and the origins of bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. More Muslims may also be narrowing their consumer choices.

The Barbie doll, Mattel Inc.'s (MAT) icon with the unattainable curvaceous figure, was ordered swept off toy store shelves in Iran two months ago under the nation's strict Islamic Sharia law. To replace the disgraced Barbie, local toy makers created a round-faced, chador-clad doll named "Sara."

"The Barbie doll is not just an innocent doll, but an exploitation of women," said Eide Alawan, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, a Detroit suburb with a concentration of Arab Muslims.

"Muslims buy their children items that embody Muslim values and express the values they want to teach," Alawan said. "The interest of the Muslim community is to buy products that respect the anatomy of a woman."

To meet that demand, catalog and Internet company NoorArt, promotes "Razanne," a flat-chested, conservatively dressed doll for girls, say the company's owners, a former opera singer and her Palestinian husband.
(More: iWon.com News Source)
2002 © Reuters, Ltd.

The correct spelling of the name “Razanne” (according to NoorArt) is to be found in my above post, not the linked Reuters story (where Mr. Stern spells it incorrectly 6 times).

Dan