Sarah Joseph

One of the accusation levelled against Muslim’s here at times has been that they are "foreign" and cannot integrate with the English/American/Aussie "way". This is something Sarah Joseph has tried to deal with her attempts at "normalising" Muslims and trying to show that we are not all terrorists or brainwashed and oppressed but ordinary people with m mostly the same concerns as non-Muslims. One of the ways she has tried to do this is through her up-beat and stylish lifestyle magazine Emel. Her work led to her being homoured with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from the Queen.

"Where are the 'normal' Muslims in the media? Where are the police officers, nurses, dentists - the aspirational people who make an ordinary Muslim picking up the paper think, 'Look, they made it, I can too'? That's one of the reasons we created Emel. You need to present different faces, that aren't all spouting anti-Western diatribes." (Evening Standard, 20 July 2005)

"I'm a person of faith and I believe a person of faith must be optimistic. I see young people who are involved at every level of British society - articulate, clever, inspirational individuals who feel strongly that they have to benefit this society and be part of Muslim society. I think that Muslims have the capacity to give a lot. As long as people start seeing Islam as part of the solution and not part of the problem they will go a long way. " (The Guardian, 30 November 2004)

picture source

Articles by Sarah Joseph:

Putting a good glossy on the Muslim lifestyle - The Times, 9 October 2005

'Being Muslim shapes you, but first and foremost I'm a human being' -The Guardian, 30 November 2004

The freedom that hurts us - Guardian, 3 February 2006