Making the Middle East Accessible - Putting Real Faces to the Arab Image



The Middle Eastern community in the West is often said to be invisible, as there is a wide diversity in the appearance of Middle Eastern people and the characteristics that make up this mixed group. While London is considered the epicentre of the Middle Eastern community in the UK, there are Middle Eastern communities in every corner of the country from Glasgow to Cardiff to Southampton.

Lack of visibility has meant that quite often Middle Eastern communities and cultures in the UK have been misrepresented and misunderstood, particularly in light of world events since September 11.

Arabella magazine hopes to offer a gateway into Middle Eastern lifestyles in the UK, by offering an accessible English language publication to all, and by doing so demystify some of the often-held misconceptions and beliefs associated with Eastern cultures.

"People have always been interested in the Middle East, never more so than now, but they have rarely been able to scratch the surface. In the past there was a romantic exoticism associated with the Arab world, conjuring up images of Laurence of Arabia, but now the most commonly associated image is of terrorism," says founder and Editor-in-Chief, Elvira Doghem-Rashid, "Arabella puts real faces to the often misunderstood Middle Eastern community in the UK and highlights the common values we all hold regardless of ethnic origin. We want to bring back the glamour and romanticism to the image of Arabs."

The concept for the magazine grew out of recognition of both the melding together of Eastern and Western cultures, as well as the lack of a centralised voice for this niche consumer group.

Arabella magazine will be opening up its pages to readers in November 2005, offering a multitude of information, entertainment and advice on social issues, beauty, fashion, health, and lots more.

The magazine is the is independently owned, which allows for editorial freedom but also means that the support of readers - by subscribing - is vital to it's success.

Of course, Arabella also serves the needs of an already existing and growing number of individuals who are of Middle Eastern descent, but have been living abroad for an extended period, or were born/raised in the West.

"The Middle Eastern Woman lives a Western life while maintaining her Eastern values, especially when it comes to culture, family, fashion, and entertainment. Arabella understands and speaks to both of these aspects of her life by offering her articles and features that relate specifically to her needs and interests, as well as unique fashion and beauty that define her lifestyle," comments Doghem-Rashid.

Unlike Middle Eastern and other ethnic groups in the US, Arabs in the UK have no term that describes their unique mix of Eastern and Western cultures. So while terms such as Arab-American, African-American and even British Asian exist, there is a gap in terms of the Middle Eastern community in the UK. Arabella magazine hopes to develop, along with other media coverage, a positive voice for this community and a true sense of a new, mixed identity for this group that is growing in size and with no signs of slowing!

Arabella magazine also hopes to illuminate the multi-faceted nature of Middle Eastern cultures, to people outside these communities and even those within. Often different parts of the Middle Eastern community live in different areas and have developed their own mico-communities. Arabella magazine hopes to offer a forum to inform and bring together the various Middle Eastern communities living in the UK. As a mark of this, the magazine launch has been timed to coincide with Eid (November), Christmas and Hanukah (both December) - key events in the spiritual calendars of the three main religions of Middle Eastern people.

There are no official figures on the number of people of Middle Eastern ethnic origin in the UK, but conservative estimates put the figure at over ½ million.

For questions, additional information or magazine images, please contact Nadine Hallak (Press & PR) on +44 (0) 78 8634 0667 or at nadineatarabellamag.com

Elvira Doghem-Rashid is available for interview upon request.

Note to the editor
-Arabella magazine is published in English and will be on sale from November 2005





Making the Middle East Accessible - Putting Real Faces to the Arab Image