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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Jordanian society on move thanks to glossy mags |
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| jaihoon |
| 08/23/03 at 08:20:19 |
| Jordanian society on the move thanks to glossy social magazines (AFP) 22 August 2003 khaleejtimes.com AMMAN - A new breed of glossy society magazines showing the rich and famous partying, women in strapless dresses or featuring articles on beauty tips is causing quite a stir in Jordan. For some people in this traditionally conservative Muslim society, magazines with names such as Layalina (Arabic for Our Nights), Living Well, Yahala (Welcome) and Jo are a breath of fresh air. But others fear they will exacerbate strains in a society caught between Western-educated people who strive to put some spice in their lives and rigid Muslims who frown upon what they consider an insult to their values. “It is shocking for Jordan to have such magazines because this is a conservative society that is not used to splash its life in public,” said Jana, a 21-year-old university student. “But I also think that people will buy them because they want to dream, particularly those who cannot afford rich outings. They want to see how the wealthy live.” But her friend Rawan, also 21, said some of these publications were “unnatural and scandalous in Jordan because our society is a closed one.” Aziz, a devout Muslim and father of four, objects to the number of advertisement for scotch whisky on the covers or inside pages of these publications, since alcoholic beverages are banned under Islam. “This is a strong indication that these magazines are intended for a small fraction of our society, the elitists, including secular Muslims, who do not consider drinking alcohol a religious offense,” he said. An engineer who graduated from a US university, Aziz is also unhappy about the amount of scantily dressed women portrayed in the magazines, particularly Layalina, which hit the newsstands in April. “Had this been a foreign magazine, the censors would have blackened many of the photographs that show women wearing see-through dresses,” he said pointing to a feature in Layalina of Arab designer clothes shot at a Syrian archeological site. But Layalina chief editor Rania Omeish shrugs off criticism of her magazine, which is the Jordanian edition of a publication launched in neighbouring and more liberal Lebanon three years ago. “There should be a magazine like this. People love it and it is needed in Jordan because we provide a full coverage of important social happenings, nightlife as well as celebrity news and interviews,” she said. Omeish admitted that her magazine, which began printing a Kuwaiti edition since June, upset some people, particularly the section entitled “after midnight” which carries pictures of jet-setting youths partying. One of the tabloid weeklies compared Layalina to “Playboy” magazine and Omeish did receive negative feedback after the first issues. “Controversy is good. It gives flavour to the magazine,” she said. The manager of a bookshop in one of Jordan’s five-star hotels says Layalina is a hot-seller. Another is Living Well, a pioneer English-language magazine that touts itself as the “heart of Jordanian lifestyle”. “The success of Living Well ignited the publishing business and now we have a waiting list on advertising,” said publisher and managing editor Iyad Shehadeh, who has also published Yahala since July. Shehadeh acknowledges his publications are meant for the elitist ”A and B of society because we feel that those people have the purchasing power.” He describes his audience as “socially active Jordanians” who are looking for entertainment pure and simple, not politics. The August edition of Living Well carries a review on Sushi bars, which have taken Jordan by storm, as well as psychiatrist’s views on the dangers posed by “legal, over-the-counter drugs”. Yahala, with a format similar to Hello magazine, is devoted to world celebrities, and features the latest gossip on actress Angelina Jolie and the singer Shakira as well as the first Salsa festival held in Jordan in July. Jordanian sociologist Serri Nasser said it was too early to evaluate the impact of these publications in Jordan, a tiny country caught between two of the world’s hottest political issues -- Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “People don’t want to think about Iraq, Palestine or anything else. They are frustrated with the political situation going on and perhaps by reading such magazines they seek an escape route from their daily lives,” Serri said. |
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