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MUSLIM DOLL MORE THAN TOY


Watch out, Barbie. Theres a new girl in toy town, and she doesnt have long blonde hair or a waist the diameter of a dime.

Her name is Razanne, and with her flowing clothes and traditional Muslim head scarf called a hijab, shes putting a Livonia company on the map by creating dolls targeted to Muslim girls.

Razanne (pronounced RUH-zanne) was created four and a half years ago by Ammar Saadeh and his wife, Sherrie, owners of NoorArt, an educational products company, to give young Muslim girls a doll to which they can relate.

Today, the 12-inch doll, which comes in a variety of forms and skin colors, is sold in four countries and soon will hit the shelves in two more, the Netherlands and Germany.

We are not making huge sales, but its unique, said Ammar Saadeh, who estimates he sells fewer than 100 Razanne dolls from his Livonia store and his Web site www.noorart.com each year. Really what we are trying to do is build character, and at the same time we want to deliver something that has educational value.

The Saadehs came up with the idea for Razanne seven years ago. The couple wanted to create a doll in which Muslim girls could see themselves, as well as help build self-esteem and represent virtue and modesty. From there, Razanne evolved.

We felt there was a need for a doll that will make the focus more on the inner worth of the person much more than the outside, Ammar Saadeh said.

The whole idea of the hijab or the cover is really shifting that focus when you deal with this person its, Do not focus on how she looks, focus more on how she acts, her brain, her intellectual abilities. We want our girls to have more self-esteem.

Razanne comes in seven varieties Schoolgirl Razanne, Praying Razanne, Teacher Razanne and Scouting Razanne among them and sells for between $12.99 and $21.99 depending on the version.

Even her name is the antithesis of Barbie; it means modest woman in Arabic.

Toy experts say Muslim dolls are rare, but more and more ethnic dolls are entering the mainstream toy market.

A great example of this is MGAs Bratz line of dolls, said Colleen McMillan, a spokeswoman for the Toy Industry Association. These dolls come in all colors of the rainbow and a wide variety.

Gail Zion of Dearborn Heights got her first glimpse of Razanne at a fund-raising event at an Islamic school two years ago. Razanne was everything other dolls in the doll market werent flat-chested and fully clothed, Zion said.

I was pretty excited, very excited, said Zion, who has two daughters, ages 13 and 11. I (thought) it was ample time to have a doll that represents the Muslim community. Shes very unique.

Zion bought Razanne for her own daughters, one of whom still plays with the doll. But she also bought another one to send to relatives.

Razanne also has been educational not just for her daughters but for their friends and classmates, Zion said.

When other people see the children are playing with these dolls, they ask more questions and want to know more, she said. If you want to buy it:

http://onlineislamicstore.com/razmusdol.html