"Muhajababes: Meet the New Middle East -- Young, Sexy, and Devout" -- A BuzzFlash Interview, Sort of

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW THAT TURNED INTO A BOOK REVIEW

An Interview with the author of "Muhajababes: Meet the New Middle East -- Young, Sexy, and Devout" that turned into a BuzzFlash commentary.

What a novel idea!

Allegra Stratton, a young British journalist with precociously impressive credentials (the BBC and various UK print publications), set out to interview and profile residents of major cities in the Islamic world with one pre-condition: they all had to be around her age, 24 (Stratton’s age at the time).

The age requirement was intended to offer insights into what is known as the Islamic Baby Bump, comparable to our Baby Boom generation, only it is happening now.

And what Stratton finds is that, at least in the cities, the Islamic youth culture is robustly diverse. This is most exemplified by young women, many who wear traditional Islamic garb in public, but dress to kill underneath their robes and scarves. (Hence, the term "Muhajababes.") As in America, there is no doubt a gap that exists between the urban and rural cultures, with the rural culture and doctrinaire intellectuals and religious leaders providing the core of the fundamentalist movement.

But Stratton shows us that there is much more nuance to the upcoming generation of Islam than the Bush Administration would have us believe. (Stratton’s book is more personal profile than political discourse, which is all the more interesting because it is not something that we often see written about the Islamic world.) From her journey through the Middle-Eastern youth culture, it is clear that there are a lot of young people making personal choices within the confines of Islam, much like Americans do with their own religions –- with the exception of our own religious fundamentalists.

So I decided, because of the book’s interest, to convey in this commentary her unbridled enthusiasm for her subject and for a recognition of the diversity of young people trying to figure out their identities in an evolving Islamic and global community. Simply put, as her exciting and energetic book reveals, one size doesn’t fit all.

Of course, and this is BuzzFlash’s opinion, it doesn’t help bring those young people closer to the West when you have an administration whose foreign policy is based on the control of fossil fuels and national resources, not the well-being of civilians in nations with such commodities. Human rights are just a talking point for the Bush Administration. But Americans who are willing to back wars for cheap oil, whether they are conscious of it or not, enable such policies. It has become a foreign policy based on greed, not on respecting the dignity of life throughout the world.

Stratton provides us with human portraits of individuals who may represent the future of Islam, particularly in cities. But the U.S. must acknowledge and welcome this diversity, instead of supporting repressive regimes and defiantly occupying Islamic nations. Yes, the people whom she profiles and reflects upon are filled with contradictions, but aren’t we all?

We created the mess in Iran, for instance, and the fundamentalist backlash by installing and supporting the repressive and Savak-torturing Shah. In 1953, the CIA overthrew a democratically elected government in Iran because the elected head of the government was challenging the British national control over Iranian oil production. In essence, Britain had nationalized a foreign nation’s fossil fuel reserves – for itself! After years of tyranny under the Shah, students who wanted freedom had no place to turn but the Mullahs. Instead, as is often the case in revolutions, there was a consolidation of power and the radical fundamentalists became as dictatorial and destructive as the Shah during a ruinous war with Iraq, in which we backed Saddam Hussein.

Stratton’s engaging and illuminating portraits offer an insight into the people behind the stereotypes, and the potential future for an Islamic world that respects and is respected by the West (although she does come across some radicals in her journey, but polls show that the vast majority of Muslims want peace.)

There’s a glass half full of hope here, but it begins by breaking through stereotypes, which Stratton does with boundless interest and skillful writing.

Stratton notes that 2/3’s of the Middle Eastern population is 25 or under. But the lack of jobs in many countries, the political pressures, the swirl of fundamentalism and Western influences have created an uncertain future for the next generation of Muslims.

How the U.S. approaches the Islamic "street," showing respect for individual lives and culture instead of just a thinly veiled greed for oil will go a long way in determining in what direction this generation will move.

Review by Mark Karlin, Editor and Publisher of BuzzFlash.com

Additional description from the publisher:

Two-thirds of the Middle East’s population is under twenty-five, with an explosive growth in the number of college graduates. Allegra Stratton, a twenty-five-year-old producer for the BBC, traveled to Beirut, Amman, Cairo, Dubai, Kuwait City, and Damascus to understand what daily life is like in Arab and Muslim youth culture.

There she found a massive media industry of music videos and scantily clad pop stars vying with the voice of conservative Islam condemning Western culture and immodest dress. But for most young Muslim women, there is no conflict:

They were cigarillo thin and Coco Chanel chic. Both wore black-nylon boot-cut hipster trousers and high heels, carried baguette handbags and wrapped around their heads were black, sheer headscarves as tight as the rest of their outfits. Darah commented: "The results of video-clips are these girls. I call them muhajababes."

"Muhajaba" means girl who veils . . . but look at them. They’re babes.

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW THAT TURNED INTO A BOOK REVIEW

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