Leicester: The Most Islamic City In Europe

Masjid Umar, Evington Drive, Leicester


By Soeren Kern, written on March 24, 2011. 

Leicester, an industrial city in central England, is home to the most conservative Islamic population anywhere in Europe, according to American diplomatic cables that were obtained and recently released by the website, Wikileaks. Leicester is also on track to become the first majority non-white city in British history.

The politically incorrect observation was made by a senior US State Department official who visited the city as part of an effort to engage Muslim communities in Europe. It reflects how Leicester's long-ballyhooed experiment with multiculturalism is being challenged by Muslim separatism and assertiveness.

A leaked diplomatic cable recounts the October 2007 visit of Farah Pandith, the US State Department's Senior Advisor for Muslim Engagement, to Leicester, a mid-sized city some 70 minutes north of London. The stated purpose of the visit was for the US government to find ways to help Britain "update and improve" its approach to stopping "home-grown" Islamic extremists. The document says Pandith found the lack of integration of the Muslim community in Leicester to be "striking."


Leicester Central Mosque Corner of Conduit Street and Sparkenhoe Street.

The cable says, among other observations, Pandith was shocked to find "girls as young as four years old were completely covered." The document continues: "At a local book store, texts… seemed designed to segregate Muslims from their wider community, urging women to cover themselves and remain in their homes, playing up the differences between Islam and other religions, seeking to isolate Muslims from community, and feeding hate of Jews to the young."

The cable also recounts a discussion Pandith had with religious and community leaders at an Ahmadiyya [an Asian Islamic sect] mosque: "Yaqub Khan, General Secretary of a local organization called the Pakistan Association, insisted that he had to teach young people in Urdu. When Pandith challenged him as to why he would use Urdu with children who were growing up with English as their first language, Khan insisted that there were no good books on the Koran in English."

After World War II, the British government encouraged immigration to the country to alleviate an economic crisis, and that trend accelerated dramatically in recent years due to left-wing immigration policies seeking to foster multiculturalism. A new study by the think-tank Migration Watch UK shows that during the thirteen years that the last Labour government was in power (1997-2010), immigrants arrived in Britain at a rate of almost one a minute .

A fair number of those immigrants settled in Leicester -- once known as a center for manufacturing shoes and textiles -- where immigrant groups now make up nearly half that city's total population of 280,000. Many of the immigrants are of South Asian origin; the city is now known for its many Hindu, Sikh and Muslim places of worship.


Muslim women rest during shopping in the centre of Leicester City, UK

The sharp rise in Muslim immigration, however, is upsetting Leicester's ethnic balance, and casting doubt upon the city's multicultural future. After Christians and Hindus, Muslims are the third-largest faith group in Leicester. The city's Muslim population is estimated at between 11% and 14% (or somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 Muslims), which is well above the percentage (4.6) of Muslims in Britain as a whole. The Muslim population in Leicester is made up mainly of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, as well as Turks, Somalis, Kenyans and Ugandans. According to the Ummah Forum , "you'd really like Leicester if you want to be around a large population of Muslims."

Muslim immigration has led to the proliferation of mosques in Leicester, which now has more than 200 mosques and madrassas [Islamic religious schools]. The city is also home to several mega-mosques. The Leicester Central Mosque complex has a capacity for nearly 3,000 worshippers. It also has a school, a community hall, a residence hall for imams, a mortuary and a guest house. The huge Masjid Umar mosque has four towering minarets and a grand dome that displays Arabic calligraphy from the Koran.

The most influential Muslim in Leicester is Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh-ul-Haq , a hard-line Muslim cleric who runs the Al Kawthar Academy , an Islamic school in the city. Ul-Haq, 40, is also the leader of a new generation of "home-grown" British Islamists who loathe Western values, support armed jihad and preach contempt for Christians, Jews and Hindus.

Ul-Haq, who preaches in mosques across Britain, outlaws television and music, and says football is "a cancer that has infected our youth." He is appalled by young women who want to get educated and go to university. He regularly praises the work of the Taliban and their attacks against British troops in Afghanistan.

In a typical sermon entitled " Imitating the Disbelievers ," ul-Haq warns British Muslims of the danger of being corrupted by the "evil influence" of Western culture. He also heaps scorn on Muslims who say they are "proud to be British," and argues that friendship with a Christian or a Jew makes "a mockery of Allah's religion." Ul-Haq sermons are broadcast on Radio Ramadhan Leicester in Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Somali, Arabic and English.

Other Islamic separatists have been linked to the University of Leicester, according to the recent report, " Radical Islam on UK Campuses ".

In 2002, British police initiated a crackdown on supporters of Osama bin Laden's terror network in Leicester. A police swoop on predominantly Muslim areas of the city led to the arrest of eight Islamic jihadists, who were accused of belonging to al-Qaeda and conspiring to raise money to fund terrorism.

Meanwhile, Leicester has the fourth-highest rate of unemployment in Britain. The city also has very high rates of illiteracy, and ranks as one of the worst five municipalities in England for education.
An April 2010 survey titled " Muslims in Leicester " says that Muslims in the city are especially prone to underachievement and unemployment. The report says the inner city Spinney Hills neighbourhood, which has the highest percentage of Muslims in the city, is also the ward with the lowest rate of full-time employment, the highest rate of unemployment, the highest level of economic inactivity, the highest percentage of "no qualifications" for work and the highest level of social housing.



Muslims are now demanding political power within the Leicester city council, as well as the freedom to wear their religious dress at work and to have halal food in the city hospitals. They are also seeking their own faith-based schools.

One such school, the Leicester Islamic Academy -- where female students wear the full-length dress and head-covering and the boys wear black robes and skullcaps -- has been accused by the British government of promoting Islamic separatism. Another state-run Islamic school in Leicester, the Madani High School , has run afoul of government regulators for reneging on its promise that 10% of its pupils would be non-Muslim. A government official has warned that Britain is "sleepwalking to segregation." He said: "Segregation is now so extreme in some schools that there is not much farther it can go. It does not help to prepare children in these schools for the real world."

The British government has tried -- unsuccessfully -- to reverse the tide of Islamic separatism in Leicester. In June 2008, for example, the city hosted the first in a series of road shows designed to tackle the problem of honour-based violence . Leicester has been plagued by forced marriages, kidnappings, physical and mental abuse of women, and other honour-based violence crimes against those who have not, according to family and local community members, conformed to religious or cultural expectations.

Muslim assertiveness is also turning Leicester into a lightening rod for those who oppose radical Islam. In October 2010, for example, Leicester was the site of a demonstration organized by the English Defense League, a far-right group which emerged after Muslim extremists disrupted a homecoming parade in Luton in March 2009 for British soldiers returning from Iraq. EDL protesters in Leicester carried banners with slogans such as, "Sharia laws will destroy Britain and all our British values."

Alluding to the transformation of cities like Leicester, Michael Nazir-Ali, a bishop of the Church of England, has lamented that Islamic extremists have turned parts of Britain into no-go areas for non-Muslims . Lashing out at the spread of religious separatism and the damage caused by the doctrine of multiculturalism, Nazir-Ali warned against the acceptance of Islamic Sharia law in Britain, and added that amplified calls to prayer from mosques are imposing an Islamic character on many British towns and cities.

It is a rather strange irony that Leicester's motto is Semper Eadem : "Always the Same"

Turkish pianist charged with insulting Islam

Iinternationally acclaimed Turkish pianist Fazil Say has served as a cultural ambassador to the European Union

A Turkish court Friday formally charged an internationally known pianist and composer with insulting Islamic religious values in comments he made on Twitter.

The court in Istanbul voted to approve an indictment against Fazil Say, who has played piano with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, National Orchestra of France and Tokyo Symphony.

The 42-year-old Turk faces charges of inciting hatred and public enmity, and insulting "religious values." Say, who has served as a culture ambassador for the European Union, allegedly mocked Islamic beliefs about paradise in April.

Meltem Akyol, a lawyer for Say, said the pianist has denied the charges. The trial will be held Oct. 18, she said.

"We certainly do not accept the charges," Akyol said by telephone Friday. "He has stated in his initial testimony during the probe that he had no intention to humiliate any religion. He was basically criticizing those who are exploiting religion for profit."

Akyol said Say's tweets and retweets on social media cannot be considered as public remarks because only people who follow him can see them. In one tweet cited in the indictment, Say said: "What if there is raki [traditional anisette drink] in paradise but not in hell, while there is Chivas Regal [scotch] in hell and not in paradise? What will happen then? This is the most important question!!"

Islam forbids alcohol and many Islamists might consider such remarks unacceptable. In one of the pianist's retweets, one excerpt questioned whether paradise was a "brothel?" according to the indictment.

Akyol claimed that line belonged to the wine-loving 11th century Persian poet Omar Khayyam, most known for his work the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam." But Murat Bardakci, a historian, wrote in HaberTurk newspaper in April that the alleged line did not belong to Khayyam.

"He was merely expressing his ideas within free speech," said Akyol, adding that the renowned artist was not seeking any privileges or immunity from prosecution.

Akyol, meanwhile, confirmed that Say closed his Twitter account before the court decision Friday, because he was annoyed with messages.

"He has lately incurred the wrath of some people," Akyol said. "He has even been receiving death threats."

Say had floated the idea of leaving Turkey and moving to Japan earlier this year, his lawyer said. The pianist was abroad and not available for comment. He was expected to return to Istanbul this weekend following a concert in Slovenia on Friday.

Say was the latest prominent Turk to run into trouble in the country for expressing his views. He could face a maximum 1 1/2 years in prison if he is convicted.

The European Union has long encouraged Turkey to improve freedom of speech if it wants to become a member one day.

Turkey's Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk has been prosecuted for his comments about the mass killings of Armenians under a law that made it a crime to insult the Turkish identity before the government eased that law in an amendment in 2008.

In 2007, ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who received death threats because of his comments about the killings of Armenians by Turks in 1915, was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul.

Historia ya tarehe ya leo kiislamu (13 Rajab 1433)

Leo ni Jumatatu tarehe 13 Rajab mwaka 1433 Hijiria inayosadifina na tarehe 4 Juni 2012 Miladia
Siku kama ya leo miaka 1456 iliyopita alizaliwa Ali bin Abi Twalib katika nyumba tukufu ya al Kaaba, ambaye ni binamu, mkwe na Khalifa wa Mtume Muhammad (saw).

Mama wa mtukufu huyo ni Bibi Fatima bint Assad na baba yake ni Abu Talib. Katika kipindi chake cha utotoni, Ali bin Abi Talib alilelewa na kupata elimu na mafunzo kutoka kwa Mtume Mtukufu SAW, na alikuwa mwanaume wa kwanza baada ya Mtume SAW kuukubali Uislamu.

Mwishoni mwa mwaka wa Pili Hijria, Imam Ali AS alimuoa Bibi Fatimatul Zahra binti ya Mtume Mtukufu SAW. Imam Ali AS alishiriki kwenye vita vyote bega kwa bega na Mtume Mtukufu SAW isipokuwa vita vya Tabouk, na alikuwa msaidizi wa karibu wa Mtume Mtukufu katika hali zote za shida na matatizo.

Licha ya kuwa shujaa na mpiganaji mashuhuri, lakini Imam Ali bin Abi Twalib alikuwa mpole kwa watu wa kawaida, mwingi wa huruma na upendo na mtetezi wa wanyonge na wanaodhulumiwa. Imam Ali AS aliishi kwa muda wa miaka 63 na kwa muda wa miaka mitano ya uhai wake aliuongoza umma wa Kiislamu kama khalifa. Imam Ali AS aliuawa shahidi mwezi wa Ramadhan, baada ya kupigwa dharuba ya upanga akiwa anaswali sala ya alfajiri msikitini mjini Kufa nchini Iraq.

 Idhaa ya Kiswahili Redio Tehran inatoa mkono wa baraka na fanaka kwa Waislamu wote duniani kwa mnasaba huu adhimu wa kuadhimishwa siku ya kuzaliwa Simba wa Mungu, Imam wa Mashariki na Magharibi, Amirul Muuminin Ali bin Abi Twalib (as).

Siku kama ya leo miaka 49 iliyopita, sawa na tarehe 15 Khordad 1342 Hijria Shamsia, wananchi katika pembe mbalimbali nchini Iran walifanya maandamano makubwa dhidi ya utawala wa kifalme hapa nchini, baada ya kusambaa habari za kutiwa mbaroni Imam Khomeini. Vikosi vya usalama vya utawala wa kifalme hapa nchini vilimtia mbaroni Imam Khomeini zikiwa zimepita siku chache tu tokea alipotoa hotuba kali na ya kihistoria katika Madrasa ya Faidhiyyah mjini Qum. Harakati ya tarehe 15 Khordad inahesabiwa kuwa ndiyo chachu ya kujiri mapinduzi ya Kiislamu yaliyopelekea kuangushwa utawala wa Kipahlavi.

Na miaka 23 iliyopita katika siku kama ya leo, sawa na tarehe 4 Juni mwaka 1989, wanafunzi kadhaa wa vyuo vikuu vya China waliuawa na wengine wengi kujeruhiwa na polisi katika mji mkuu wa nchi hiyo Beijing. Siku hiyo maelefu ya wanafunzi wa vyuo vikuu vya China walikuwa wamejikusanya katika mzunguko wa Tiananmen mjini Beijing, wenye maana ya 'Amani ya Mbinguni" wakitaka kuwepo mazingira ya wazi ya kisiasa nchini humo, kupunguzwa uwezo wa chama cha kisoshalisti, kuongezwa uwezo wa bunge na kuchaguliwa wawakilishi wake. Ingawa serikali ya China ilipinga maandamano hayo lakini wanafunzi waliendela kukusanyika na mwishowe askari polisi na vikosi vya jeshi kutumia silaha kuwakandamiza wanafunzi hao waliokuwa wakiandamana ambapo baadhi waliuawa na kujeruhiwa.

History of Sheikh Ahmed Deedat

• Born in the Surat district of India in 1918, Ahmed Hoosen Deedat had no recollection of his father untill 1926. His father a tailor by profession had emigrated to South Africa shortly after the birth of Ahmed Deedat.

• With no formal education and fighting off the extreme pangs of poverty, he went to South Africa in 1927 to be with his father. His farewell to his mother in India in 1927 was the last time he saw her alive for she passed away a few months later.

• In a foreign land, a boy of nine with no formal schooling nor any command of the English language he began preparing for the role he was to play decades later without realizing it.

• Applying himself with diligence to his studies, the little boy not only was able to overcome the language barrier but excelled in school. His avid passion for reading helped him gain promotions until he completed standard 6. Lack of finance interrupted his schooling and at the early age of about 16 he took on the first of many jobs in retailing.

• The most significant of these was in 1936 where he worked at a Muslim owned store near a Christian seminary on the Natal South Coast. The incessant insults of the trainee missionaries hurled against Islam during their brief visits to the store infused a stubborn flame of desire within the young man to counteract their false propaganda.

• As fate would have it, Ahmad Deedat discovered by pure chance a book entitled Izharal-Haq, meaning the Truth revealed. This book recorded the techniques and enormous success of the efforts of Muslims in India in turning the tables against Christian missionary harassment during the British subjugation and rule of India. In particular the idea of holding debates had a profound effect on Ahmed Deedat.

• Armed with this new found zeal, Ahmed Deedat purchased his first Bible and began holding debates and discussions with the trainee missionaries. When they beat a hasty retreat in the face of his incisive counter arguments, he personally called on their teachers and even priests in the surrounding areas to discuss and debate topical issues of the day.

• These successes spurred Ahmed Deedat in the direction of Da’wah. Not even his marriage, birth of Children and a 3 year sohourn to Pakistan after its independence dampened his enthusiasm or dulled his desire to defend Islam .

• With missionary zeal to project the truth and the pure clinical beauty of Islam, Ahmed Deedat immersed hiself into a host of activities over the next three decades. He conducted classes on Bible studies and gave numerous lectures. He established the As-Salaam, an institute to train propagators of Islam. He, together with his family, almost single-handedly erected the buildings including the masjid which is still a landmark today.

• He was a founder member of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) and became its President. He has published over 20 books and distributed milions of copies free of charge. He has delivered thousand of lectures all over the world and successfully engaged Christian Evangelists in public debates. Several thousand people have come into the fold of Islam as a result of these efforts.

• In a fitting tribute to this monumental achievement, he was awarded the King Faisal International award in 1986, a prestigious recognition of enormous value in the world of Islam.

• No number of awards and honours can truly capture the man’s essence and zeal for Islam. This anthology of books is no exception. It demonstrates Sheikh Deedat’s analytical compilations drawn from personal encounters and experiences against many prevailing distortions.

• In 1996 Shaikh Ahmed Deedat suffered from a serious stroke and remained paralysed and bedridden for 9 years. On 8th August, 2005 he passed away. May Allah (swt) bless his soul with Jannatul Firdous for his path-breaking and excellent efforts for Daw’ah of Islam worldwide as well as reigniting the spirit of self-esteem and renaissance amongst millions of Muslims the world over.

• Books by Shaikh Ahmed Deedat: The Choice - Between Islam and Christianity - Volume I The Choice - Between Islam and Christianity - Volume II Is the Bible God’s Word? Al Qur’an the Miracle of Miracles What is His Name? Christ in Islam What was the sign of Jonah? What the Bible says about Muhammed (pbuh)? Resurrection or Resuscitation? Arabs and Israel – Conflict or Conciliation? Crucifixion or Cruci-Fiction?

Pictures: Fundraisng dinner Leicester

 Some of the committee members

 Preparation

 Sharif was there

 Ustadh Khamis with team from Slough

 Preparation

 Committee members working hard to make sure every one gets good service

 Visitors arriving at the event

 Hamad Car park attendant

 Young Omar recite Quran

 Attendees

 Sheikh Khalil, MC of the day

 Deputy Mayor Abdul Osman

 The security was very tight, thanks to Mreh, Meja and Abdillah

 An Noor Community members

 Cameraman Nassor Hemed

 Concentration

 Discussion going on on the high table

 Some of the attendees from Slough

From left, Committee Chairman Mohamed Omar, Sheikh Kamil, Asaa, Ustadh Saleh and Abdillah

 Dinner served

 Dr Jamal Juma and Mr Ali "Meja"

 Ali and Jaffar

 Ustadh Khamis and Zubeir

 Sheikh is giving a lacture

 Ustadh Jamal giving a lacture

Sheikh Saleh Juma talk to the some of the attendees

Please contribute for the sake of Allah

For those who will not be able to attend but they would like to donate, then they can use our following Bank account:

Bank: Lloyds TSB

Name: Madrassatul Noor Leicester

Sort Code: 309497

Account: 45127768

International account

LOYDGB21029

Iban: GB27LOYD30949745127768

Video: Hindu became atheist then converted to islam!

Blame “US against Islam” hurts Clinton

The Secretary of the States, Hillary Clinton

By Farhan Iqbal

The charges that the United States of America is against the Muslims and their religion Islam have deeply hurt the Secretary of the States, Hillary Clinton.

The Secretary of the States, Hillary Clinton, has recently visited the third largest Muslim-majority country in the world, Bangladesh, where she was stunned by a student who asked her a question at a public forum regarding a general perception in the Muslim world about the United States that if the super power of the world is against Islam.

The feelings of Clinton remained no more unharmed when she listened to the question as she has always been a loyal ambassador of the US during the incumbent Obama-led regime defending her country’s reputation as a state “protecting the rights of minorities.”

She has always struggled to wipe out the general perception sticking to minds of the Muslims across the globe that the United States is biased against Islam and its followers.

"That hurts me so much," the Secretary of the States, Hilary Clinton remarked.

She continued, "It is a painful perception to hear about and I deeply regret that anyone believes that or propagates it."

The Secretary of the States clarified that the “war on terror,” being fought by the US and its allies for over a decade, is actually a “self-defense” as the terrorists of Al-Qaeda attacked the building of World Trade Center in the US on September 11, 2001, killing thousands of American people.

She added that the terrorists distorted the teachings of Islam and waged war against the innocent Americans.

She said that human nature is same everywhere and it does not change all of a sudden. Discrimination exists in all countries of the world and, unfortunately, the US is no exception, she added.

Clinton commented, "Is there discrimination or prejudice in the United States like in every society and country in the world? Unfortunately yes. Human nature has not changed dramatically."

She had a view that there are people in every corner of the world who carry feelings of hatred against specific religious groups, sects, races and ethnicities. For this, she added, alone USA cannot be blamed for this act as it is not done intentionally.

She commented, “There is discrimination against people of different religions, of different races, of different ethnic groups all over the world... but I don't think that it is at all fair to hold up the United States over discrimination.”

The Secretary of the States commended US laws saying, "I believe that the United States through our laws and through our constant political dialogue has gone probably farther than anywhere else in the world in trying to guarantee legal protections for people. I would like to see more countries do more to protect the rights of minorities."

The visit to Bangladesh by Clinton is a symbol of friendly ties between the two countries as the US has always recognized Bangladesh as a Muslim country promoting moderate brand of Islam having a significant population of religious minorities. Hillary Clinton happens to be the first US Secretary of State who has visited Bangladesh since 2003.

Conversion to Islam growing dramatically in Austria

Official records suggest a dramatic growth in conversions from Christianity to Islam, in the predominantly Christian European country of Austria, Press TV reports.

“We see that people have spiritual longing that they feel there is something missing in their lives, if there is no dimension, no horizon as to the hereafter, or where am I? Why am I here?” Says Mr. Bagajati, an Austrian convert to Islam.

Austria is a predominantly Catholic Christian European country of over eight million people with strong and deep historical roots in Christianity.

Many Christians express that they were disillusioned and had lost their faith in Christianity, and of course the recent recurring sexual scandals of Catholic Church has played a major role in their exodus, which at the end led to many of them convert to Islam, where they could find comfort.

Most non-Muslim, European citizens have always been presented with an ugly and awful image of Islam, linked mainly to extremism and fundamentalism, by the Western culture.

Meanwhile, Ms. Bagajati believes that it is the “perfect time” for Islam to show its “peaceful nature” to non-Muslims, in a time when the United Nations has expressed concerns over growing religious discrimination and violence against religious groups.

Estimations show that almost half a million Austrian Christians have converted to Islam since roughly two years ago, with the numbers of conversions keeping thriving.

Video:

Turkish beauty magazine ties Muslim veil to glamour

Ala is the first fashion magazine dedicated to Turkish women wearing headscarves

 

Can the Muslim headscarf be synonymous with glamour?

 

Turkey's first fashion magazine for conservative Islamic women looks set to win the challenge.
In less than a year since it was launched last June, the monthly Ala -- meaning "beauty" -- has become a mainstream glossy.

With a circulation of 20,000, it is only slightly behind the Turkish versions of Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Elle magazines.

Ala's pages are splashed with models reflecting a conservative Islamic style, all wearing headscarves and long dresses, with their arms and necks covered.

Ala's editor, 24-year-old Hulya Aslan, has first-hand experience with Turkey's headscarf troubles. Because she insisted on wearing one, she had to give up a university education, instead finding work at a bank.

"Now there is normalisation, an improvement. Now our veiled comrades can enter university and have more professional opportunities," she told AFP. "For the last five or six years we can say we have turned the corner."

Ala, created by two advertisers, offers the usual fare of health tips, travel pages and celebrity interviews, supplemented by a strong dose of loud and clear Islamic activism.

"Veiled Is Beautiful" proclaims one advertisement, driving home the point with the words: "My way, my choice, my life, my truth, my right."

But such slogans sound more like a reference to the struggles of the past, when secularism monopolised the social scene and the Islamic headscarf, often viewed as a political symbol, met hostile reactions.

The struggle continues despite the 2002 poll victory of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has Islamist roots and many of whose members have spouses who wear headscarves, including Erdogan's wife Emine.

Although the strict application of secularism has been loosened under AKP rule, headscarves are still off-limits for civil servants. It is now allowed in some universities, while many others ban them.

In Turkey, 60 percent of women wear some type of hair covering -- sometimes also hiding their necks and ears -- according to a 2006 survey conducted by the Istanbul-based Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation.

The fashion world now sees a growing demand from conservative Turkish women who are keen to assert themselves.

"There are now much prettier things than before," said Merve Buyuk, a 22-year-old trainee at Ala. "Designers have now understood that we exist. They've started making clothes that are not necessarily black or brown. ... I'm pretty happy with this change."

Hulya Aslan, editor of Ala Magazine, at her office in Istanbul

Ala is hoping to influence conservative women's fashion and cash in on it with advertising revenue.
"With this magazine, we are changing trends. We say that women in headscarves can follow trends. There are more and more products on the market they can access," Aslan said.

Communication scientist Nilgun Tutal of Istanbul's Galatasaray University said Ala attests to the rise of middle- and upper-class Muslims who are adapting to the consumer society, thanks to almost 10 years of AKP rule and Turkey's sustained economic growth.

"At one time, Islam, to distinguish itself from the West, took a position hostile to consumer society. But today, these people, to express their success, can only do that through consumer society," Tutal said.

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