Illume Media Making Waves in the Muslim Community

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What is Illume Magazine?

Illume Magazine is an independent media publication that aims to connect to the peoples of America and to the global electronic community in aneffort to present the beauty of Islam through web and print media.

Why Illume Magazine?

In recent years, Islam has seen an increase in attention from the mainstream media, but this attention generally presents a distorted image of Islam, which avoids addressing critical issues. The mainstream media is flooded with misinformation regarding Islam, and this is largely due to ignorance. However, the reality of the situation is that a large body of informed perspectives exists outside the mainstream. Illume Media seeks to act as an alternative media outlet for these perspectives.

Why the title, Illume?

Taking from the Prophetic Attribute, Siraajan Muneera, which means an Illuminating Lamp, Illume Magazine has been founded as an independent voice to disseminate both readily available material and original works through one medium as a means for enlightenment of the masses.

What is the philosophy behind Illume Magazine?

The organization serves to connect the hearts of the Ummah since unification is not possible without a connection. To that end, Illume Magazine looks to connect existing organizations in order to make their information available to a larger audience.

In doing so, Illume Magazine wishes to educate, invite, and enlighten humanity to the beauty of Islam and become Muslims in action regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, social status, etc. This is done by providing access to resources including, but not limited to, scholarly articles, discourses, commentaries on current affairs, notification and coverage of community events in various regions and articles on personal reflection. In keeping with the idea of reaching out to a broader audience, there are spotlights on traditional foods from different cultures, forums for art and poetry, literature and restaurant reviews. In attempts to create an interactive experience, readers can view and listen to video and audio of lectures and seek answers and advice from knowledgeable experts.

The New Swimsuit Issue

Source: Time Magazine

Move over, Tankini. Since the full-coverage swimsuit dubbed the Burqini (as in burqa plus bikini) hit the international market in January, devout Muslim women have been snapping them up. The polyester suits were designed to accord with Islamic laws that require women to dress modestly and to eliminate the risk of drowning when the yards of fabric used in traditional burqas get soaked. Now, however, non-Muslim beachgoers are getting into the full-covered swim. Whether women are worried about health, weight or the tolls of age, the Burqini offers a comfortable alternative to a skimpy two-piece or clingy maillot.

The demure suits, pioneered by two Muslim women on opposite sides of the globe, are like lightweight, loose, hooded wet suits and hide everything but the face, hands and feet. Australian retailer Aheda Zanetti, 38, says she was inspired to design her Burqini after watching young Muslim girls struggle to play netball in bulky layers. Her competitor, California microbiologist Shereen Sabet, 36, came up with her full-coverage Splashgear suits after searching in vain for Islam-appropriate scuba gear. The UV-resistant, stretchy swimsuits start at $90 and have found upwards of 6,000 buyers–most of them online–in locations as varied as Malaysia, South Africa, Mexico, Ireland and the U.S. “I’m a very small business with a product the whole world wants,” says Zanetti.

Conservative Christians, cancer patients, burn victims and senior citizens, among others, have shown surprising interest. Joanne Martinez, 37, of San Clemente, Calif., bought a Hawaiian-print ensemble to stave off chills during late-night dips. Her mother Norma Suarez, 69, got a suit because her medications make her skin sun-sensitive. “We’re both hooked,” says Martinez. Meanwhile, Kathleen Petroff, 59, of Helendale, Calif., bought her Splashgear suit for a snorkeling trip, after weight gain from multiple-sclerosis treatment made her old suit unappealing. If not for Sabet’s design, she says, “I would have missed swimming with the dolphins.”

Anne Cole, the designer whose 1997 invention of the tankini was a landmark for conservative swimwear, lauds the reasoning behind the modest suits. “A woman should, above all, find a suit she can feel comfortable and be herself in,” she says. But the new swimsuits have drawn criticism from both East and West. “This is like playing a game with Allah,” asserted a poster on the website ShiaChat, complaining that the stretchy fabric reveals curves. Zanetti’s design has also brought out anti-Muslim sentiment since she’s become a high-profile member of the Islamic community. She has been called a terrorist online; she says she has even received a death threat.

Some feminists charge that burqas in any form are offensive to women. “Clearly you’re not considered a full human being if you’re mandated to cover yourself head to toe in this tent,” says Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of Equality Now, the international women’s-rights watchdog. Sabet responds that Muslim men too have a dress code: the Koran forbids them to wear saffron or silk or expose skin from navel to knee. But Imam Mohamed Magid, who heads a moderate mosque in Sterling, Va., calls debate over Islamic clothing misdirected. “I wish there was more talk about women as leaders rather than talk about whether nail polish is acceptable in Islam,” he says. “We need to move forward.”

Still, in this bare-it-all age of the string bikini, when young girls take wardrobe cues from Paris Hilton and body-image pressure is intense, the Burqini swimsuit is making a statement. And that’s the point, the designers say: the suits allow women, Muslim or not, to choose comfort over conformity. “I know it sounds like an oxymoron,” says Sabet. “But this is really about freedom.”