As she nears the end of her successful crowdfunding campaign, Shazia Ijaz is gearing up to launch “the world’s first streetwear brand for Muslim women.”
However, dear PJ Media reader, please do not mistake Seek Refuge, the name of Ijaz’ clothing company, with the myriad other modest fashion lines developed for Muslim women. Ijaz told Religion News Service that she doesn’t want to compete with the modest fashion lines for Muslim women that have already hit the market. Instead, according to Ijaz, “We’re saying this is a brand for Muslim women regardless of the level of modesty they follow.”
Okay. Um. My head hurts now because advertising to Muslim women “regardless of the level of modesty they follow” is the very definition of competing with other modest fashion lines targeting Muslim women. But I’m getting ahead of my mansplaining self.
RNS’s interview with Ijaz reveals the reason for her desire to not compete with other modest Muslim fashion lines:
Because for her, designing clothes for Muslim women is less about a modest fit and more about carrying out an Islamic ethic. Of course, it’s also about style.
“The modest fashion industry didn’t have anything that was speaking to the fashion-forward and edgy Muslim girl,” Ijaz says. “They’re all speaking to a person that I would see as my mom or my aunt.”
Look, I’m a big fan of capitalism, and I’m glad that this lady has apparently found a way to compete with other modest Muslim fashion houses while still being able to convince her SJW soul that she’s not actually competing (hint: she’s trying to convince herself that she’s not a capitalist), but society’s broader hypocrisy needs to be pointed out.
Well, it probably doesn’t need to be pointed out because, frankly, it’s obvious. However, I do want to highlight society’s hypocrisy that is glaring through the media’s treatment of this new Muslim clothing line.
Seek Refuge has been touted by Vogue and is a growing darling among SJWs. Which is to be expected. I mean, the company wears its progressive agenda of female empowerment, Muslim representation, and refugee aid on its sleeve, sometimes literally. The thing is, SJWs pick and choose which religions can proudly and openly weave their message into products. And Seek Refuge isn’t shy about touting Islam. The company is marketing “a hoodie that references the evil eye and T-shirts designed to represent the spiritual journey to finding God.”
In fact, “everything about the Seek Refuge clothing line is designed to promote an Islamic ethic that goes beyond hijab. The brand name draws on the words of a common Islamic prayer for God’s protection (‘I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan’) as well as a poem by a Syrian refugee (‘We cried peace but in bloodshed / That oh, we’d better seek refuge’).”
However, replace the Muslim imagery and didacticism with conservative imagery and didacticism (think the NRA) and the current tastemakers would loudly decry the company. And this is the overall problem. Leftists do not want an inclusive society, no matter how many bumper stickers claiming otherwise that they stick on their Subarus.
Leftists want a society in which only the privileged groups, handpicked by them, are allowed a voice and freedom. Conservative women may want to go ahead and set up an account with Seek Refuge, because if SJWs get their way, that may be the best clothing option available to all women.
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