Muslim Dolls To Represent A Moderate Islamic Society In Indonesia

Muslim dolls are a new phenomenon within contemporary Islamic culture, particularly in Indonesia. Muslim dolls were introduced in Indonesia since the year of 2005 when Arrosa, the first Indonesian Muslim dolls product was launched into Indonesian public. But the origin of Muslim dolls was primarily triggered by the emergence of Razanne in 1997, produced by Noor Art Incorporated in Michigan, for Muslim society in the United States. These Muslim dolls were created as the result of most Muslim families’ concern about toys for their children’s entertainment, whether it contains educational values which are suitable regarding their religious values.

The birth of the modern doll was first started by the production of Barbie as a global phenomenon. Barbie was created in 1959 by Ruth Handler as an icon of Western consumerism, aristocratic, bourgeois values and lifestyles. The imagery of wealth, elegance and fantasy, Barbie is then considered as a representation of cultural practices of the West. Its popularity threatens to export Western values and sensibility into global culture, not to mention into Indonesian Muslim community who is characterized by practices of Islamic culture.

In order to tackle this situation, Ammar Saadeh, the founder of Noor Art Incorporated in Michigan, launched a Muslim dolls named Razanne, in the year of 1997, as an alternative doll for Muslim girls in the United States. Ammar states that Razanne was created to remind Muslim girls about the importance of faith despite someone’s physical appearance. The creation of Razanne was meant to show an image of a modern and global Muslim girl.

The Muslim doll consequently becomes a phenomenon of the early 21^st century. It also appeared in the Middle East in the year of 2004 by the launching of Fulla by New Boy International in Syria.

Indonesia is heavily influenced by Islam, as the most percentage—approximately 80% of the population[1]—embrace this religion. Though it has never been declared as the official religion, the state accommodates Islamic interests by supporting a wide variety of Islamic institutions.

From its historical point of view, Islam came to Indonesia through commercial path brought by Indian Muslim traders from Gujarat in the early 13^th century, and not by force of war.

Since the late 1970s, the phenomenon of “Islamic resurgence” has had a deep impact on religion, politics, and society throughout the Islamic world. The trend of wearing Islamic clothing became more popular in Indonesia where young, urban women adopted contemporary Islamic dress. By the end of the 1980s, Islamic dress became a familiar sight, and the Indonesian term for Islamic clothing is busana Muslimah or jilbab.

The desire to be modern has a perceptible impact on the way of Islamic clothing. Some people who promote the wearing of jilbab emphasizes the urgency of being fashionable, in order to bear someone’s own motivation to cover their head with veil and to attract others to wearing Islamic dress as well. Keeping Islamic clothing fashionably affirms the idea that the Islamic movement has a modern, future-oriented vision rather than keeping the conservative way.

[1] The Indonesian Central Statistic Bureau (2000)

Democracy and moderate Islam are of among many elements that constitute the national identity of Indonesian people. As a symbol of modern Islamic movement, the veil and Islamic clothing for Indonesian Muslims personifies self-reconstruction and the reconstruction of society through individual and collective self-discipline. Seeing themselves as pioneers in the effort toward a revitalized society, they refashion themselves to fit their image of a modern Islamic woman. The appearance of Arrosa itself resembles the urban elite class of Muslims. Mrs.Kusminarti admitted that she followed fashion trends and wanted her dolls to be more fashionable which could wear skirts, pants and even jeans.

It is good enough that Muslim dolls are a relatively inexpensive product for their local market—in this case I am talking about Indonesian Muslim dolls for Indonesian market—as their consumers are mostly among the household activities, housewives and mothers network. Muslim dolls become a symbol of an aspect of Islamic art, and at the same time a promising business opportunity with a potential, large market.

The challenge they encounter now is the expansion of this home-made business into a more professional scale in which they are expected to satisfy a larger market demand. At the same time, local competitors creating similar products raise an urgency of registering their copyright and patent.

Please check another relevant website about muslim dolls here: Different Brands of Muslim Dolls.