Magazine Focuses on Muslim Women in America

'Azizah' aims to give Muslim women a voice

Across the slick, colorful cover reads the magazine's bold moniker, "Azizah: For the Contemporary Muslim Woman." With its articles probing social issues and profiling the achievements of Muslim women, the magazine aims to live up to its title, which in classical Arabic means "daringness, strength and nobility."

Azizah's editor-in-chief and publisher, Tayyibah Taylor, met with Washington File staff writer Mofid Deak in early March to talk about the magazine's mission, its challenges and its growing readership base. Taylor and her staff showcased Azizah, now in its fifth issue, at the "National Conference of Arab and Muslim News Media" held in Chicago March 8-10, 2002.

According to its mission statement, "Azizah magazine will address issues pertinent to Muslim women, profile sisters whose lives and achievements inspire us, and highlight ideas and events that empower and entertain us." The magazine does not target only one ethnic group, but rather it aims to be "a reflection of Muslim women across the board," Taylor said.

The premier issue featured a profile on the first American Muslim woman to become a judge, as well as articles on investment strategies and online education. Other issues of Azizah have explored topics such as homebirth, media coverage of Muslim women, the benefits of all-female schools, and contraception.

"There was no magazine or publication that spoke to the concerns, the accomplishments, or the interests of Muslim women specifically, and that was my greatest motivation -- to have a vehicle for the voices of Muslim women," Taylor said.

Following is the transcript of the interview with editor-in-chief Tayyibah Taylor:

Q: Tell me first, how did you think of doing this magazine? What motivated you to build such a great, slick magazine like this?

TAYLOR: Well, first of all, I think I was motivated by the absence of Muslim women in the media. All of the images of Muslim women in the media today are negative ones, stereotypical ones, or we're marginalized in some other publications.

There was no magazine or publication that spoke to the concerns, the accomplishments, or the interests of Muslim women specifically, and that was my greatest motivation, to have a vehicle for the voices of Muslim women.

Q: And what is the reaction you have gotten so far from the community, from the American Muslim women to this magazine?

TAYLOR: For the most part, Muslim-American women are thrilled to finally have a publication of their own. They expressed a lot of gratitude at having this magazine. They are really excited to be able to open a magazine, see images that reflect themselves, things that they can relate to.

For the American Muslim women, there is usually something that is offensive spiritually or religiously in other magazines, and they have to censor things as they go through or skip over some ads, or skip over some articles.

The clothing, they might have to say, "Oh, I could wear that if I put something underneath it, or put on a pair of pants." But in Azizah, they can look at the fashion spread and see that, "Oh, I can wear that," of course, because it's designed by a Muslim woman for a Muslim woman.

The articles are all written from the perspective of a Muslim woman. Overall, the reaction has been very favorable because there has been nothing else like it, and it's filling a huge vacuum. There have been a few dissenters because for a long time the highest ideal for Muslim women has been described as the silent, invisible one. So there is a sector that is very uncomfortable with seeing a visual representation of a Muslim woman and hearing her expression.

However, we define our audience as those who believe that Islam is for all places, for all people, for all kinds, and the contemporary Muslim woman believing in the poly-centricity of Islam.

Q: Actually, looking through the four issues you have put out so far, you see beautiful women, neatly and elegantly dressed. You don't get the typical image of a Muslim woman.

Why is that? And you say that this magazine is for the contemporary Muslim woman. What do you mean by that?

TAYLOR: The contemporary Muslim woman defines herself. We chose the name, "Azizah."

Q: Yes, tell me more about the title of the magazine.

TAYLOR:We chose the name "Azizah," because of its meaning in classical Arabic of daringness, of strength, and nobility. All of these things I think empower and inspire the Muslim woman in these attributes. She really does reflect these attributes of strength and daringness.

And so, the contemporary Muslim woman is that woman who is seeking to better herself in all aspects of her life, spiritually, religiously, intellectually, economically, professionally, and physically. Azizah magazine speaks to all facets of her being because we are multi-faceted people. We are not one-dimensional. We have different interests and different perspectives.

Q: So what are the challenges that you can define as an editor-in-chief of a Muslim women's magazine?

TAYLOR: One of the challenges that we have definitely focused on is presenting all Muslim women. Some Muslim women say, "Well, why aren't there more Arab women, or why aren't there more African-American women?"

Some people are very ethnocentric and they feel that the magazine should reflect their particular interests and perspective. However, we are maintaining our integrity, in that, we are not affiliated with one ethnic group.

The principals of the magazine are of three different ethnicities. We are not affiliated with one mathhab [sect] or one school of thought. We don't have a Sunni agenda, or Shiite agenda, or a political group, or an Islamic organization.

Most of the other Muslim magazines and newspapers are either affiliated with a specific group or with a specific message. We are unique in that we are a reflection of Muslim women across the board. And this is upsetting to some people, but I feel that it's the essence of Islam. I feel that in Islam, there is the inherent nature of plurality for Sharia, or the Muslim Uma [nation], that we allow for other perspectives, and that we know each other, that Allah has created us in different tribes and nations, and that we should know each other.

Q: You said last night in your speech that you would first try and dispel the myths about Muslims. Would you elaborate on that?

TAYLOR: Right. Myths and stereotypes and counterfeit images have been perpetrated throughout America, and what has happened is that they have been etched into the minds, not only of those in the dominant culture, but also in the minds of Muslim women ourselves.

We have been either defined by Muslim men, or by people of other faiths or other intellectual perspectives. And so, the Muslim woman needs to define herself and say, "This is who I am, and this is what I'm about." I think in doing that it's an inspiration to others, and it's also a sense of empowerment

When you internalize negative images, it really limits your potential as a human being. You're not allowed to expand your potential. You're not allowed to exist at your highest capacity. It's very limiting.

We are so much more than a stereotypical image. And sometimes people will say, "Well, you know, this is only a movie, or this is only a book. What's wrong with that? It's art."

Well, what's wrong with that is it's the only image of Muslims, or the only image of Arabs. So Azizah provides another image which I think will be very effective in helping to undo some of those stereotypes, both in the minds of Muslim women, and in the greater society.

Q: How about the reaction from the larger, American community?

TAYLOR: I think the reaction has been also very favorable because this is the first time they are ever seeing Muslim women in this light. Their images have been those of the mindless, submissive, non-entity under a burqa [head cover].

So for them to pick up Azizah magazine and read about Islamic women scholars, or a Muslim firefighter, or a Muslim woman presiding over a family court is very new for them, shocking, and at the same time mind-expanding.

For those who are seeking knowledge and information, they are very positive, and they are very excited to see it. We had an interview on NPR [National Public Radio] last year, and after that we have many subscribers who are not of the Islamic perspective.

We have subscribers who are from different libraries, but have a population of Muslims around in their vicinity. We also have some universities and colleges who have put us in their libraries as well.

Q: But you haven't made it to an Oprah, or to Good Morning America yet, right?

TAYLOR: No, not yet.

Q: Can you give me some examples of the issues you have written about in your magazine? Give me a sample of the contents.

TAYLOR: Okay. In the first issue, our cover story was, "How Inclusive is the Muslim Community of the Disabled?"

I think this is something that we have as a community to look at when we build our mosques. When we build our mosques, are we including wheelchair ramps? When we have our meetings, do we have deaf American sign language interpreters?

In that article was a first-person account of making the Hajj [Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca] in a wheelchair. The pilgrim recounted her trials and tribulations of trying to get into the Kaba in a wheelchair. They did not want her to come in. We are raising our consciousness about those who are often on the fringe of our community.

We also did focus groups of Muslim women throughout the country, and the number one interest was marriage. So we wrote about secrets to a long lasting marriage, after we had interviewed couples who had been married for 30 years or more.

We have done articles on women in their own businesses and articles on women who have had many children. In an article entitled, "Mother of Many," we interviewed one woman who birthed and raised 15 children, not adopted, birthed and raised.

We also did an article on birth control in the same issue. When we present a topic, we don't say it's this or it's that. We present all different views, and let people make up their minds. As you say, there are those who think some things are not lawful and those who say they're lawful under certain situations. We also included in that a section about male birth control.

Q: Oh, my. Those are revolutionary, very controversial subjects that are usually taboo for the Muslim woman to discuss in a magazine like this. How have you been able to tackle these issues without some sort of a backlash from the more conservative elements in the community?

TAYLOR: I think it's the way we're presenting it. We're neutral. I think also just the fact that we are presenting the issues, the fact that we are talking about them, is useful, because so often there has been no vehicle for our voice. And so, I think women are happy to be able to express certain thoughts and talk about certain concerns.

We did an article about Muslim women shelters for women who have been abused, and their difficulties of trying to go to a Christian-run, or secular-run shelter because of problems such as not being able to mix a lot, or not having the privacy of dealing with the food issue.

We have a well-being section about health, a section called "destination" that deals with travel. We have done destinations outside of the U.S., but the last one was Colorado, one of my favorite states.

Q: Could you talk about the staff of the magazine? The composition is very cosmopolitan. You, yourself, are an African-American?

TAYLOR: Well, I was born in the Caribbean. I grew up in Canada, and I've been in America now for almost 30 years. And so, sometimes I qualify myself as an African-American, but sometimes I don't because I didn't grow up in this country. I didn't experience what African-Americans my age experienced, which was a whole different thing.

The creative director, Marlina Soerakoesoemah, who responsible for all of the graphics, the illustrations, the layout of the magazine, is Indonesian.

Our business development person, Saleemah Abdulghafur, is an African-American. She's from New Jersey, and she is a second generation Muslim.

Those are the three principals. We use freelance writers, and artists, and photographers all over the country, and they are of the whole spectrum, different ethnicities, different schools of thought, everything, everything. So Azizah magazine is a collaboration of Muslim women throughout the country.

Q: Could you talk about the technology involved in the production of "Azizah?" Your office in cyberspace sounds fascinating.

TAYLOR: Yes, the headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia; then all of the graphics are done in Seattle, Washington; and then the business development person is in New Jersey.

So we meet once or twice a week with teleconferencing, and we send e-mails to each other. That's the way we operate. And then when we get the issue of a magazine together, we send it to Indonesia where it is printed.

Q: Are you trying to sell overseas, or you are basically targeting the audience in the United States?

TAYLOR: We have defined our audience as the Muslim American woman. Now we do have subscribers overseas. We have subscribers in Saudi Arabia, in England, in Egypt, Oman, even Japan and Australia, and Indonesia, but we are not marketing anywhere except in the United States and Canada.

Q: And you're a for-profit organization, surviving by advertisement and sales?

TAYLOR: Yes. That's right. We are a profit -- a corporation, a business. We're incorporated, and our two sources of revenue are subscriptions and advertisements.

Q: Is Azizah making money?

TAYLOR: Not quite yet. According to our business plan, we're not going to break even for another couple of years yet. Usually, you know, unless you're a very big name and have lots of financial backing and resources, it usually takes about three years for a publication, and most publications die within five years of their inception. The publishing business is difficult.

Q: Yes, especially for a woman, and for a Muslim too.

TAYLOR: Right. And then, a lot of the businesses in the Muslim community are not either used to advertising, or don't have the resources for advertising. So that's a challenge.

And then, if we open it up to mainstream corporate American businesses, a lot of them don't want to touch us because they see us as "religious."

So we're walking a fine line, and I think we have to educate the Muslim community about the value of advertising, and so on. And then, you know, hopefully, other corporations will see that it is advantageous to advertise with us.

Q: Great. Well, thank you very, very much for the interview. I appreciate this time, and I appreciate your magazine as well.

TAYLOR: Oh, thank you.