Arabs don't like change?

In Kandari and Gaither's paper "Arabs, the West and PR" the authors say :

-"The words of Allah and Muhammad, without exaggeration, perhaps represent, for Muslim Arabs,the most trusted and credible sources on earth for information (...)Arabs probably will rank whatever Allah and Muhammad say as more trustworthy than whatever parents,(...)media or others would say."

-"Using verses and stories from the Koran and Sunnah could be persuasive tools for avoiding or

adopting practices and behaviors."

And "In general, Arabs resist change"

Now let's have a look at this Egyptian commercial :

Well we can see in this campaign launched by the Egyptian public service to raise awareness about birth control and contraceptive options that not at any moment religion or Allah are mentioned.

Contraception is not mentioned in the Koran as it didn't exist at the time but any kind of abortion or interfering in another‘s individual right to die or live is forbidden. Each life is sacred and blessed from birth to natural death. The Koran says that Allah is the creator of everything, only him can create life and order death.

If we follow Kandari and Gaither's statements, we would say that the majority of  Egyptians being Muslim this campaign could offend them or create negative reactions.But most egyptian friends of mine who saw the video embraced the idea, and Nafisat, my 20 years old friend from Cairo told me " I understand that some women choose this option , i wouldn't myself but I am not offended as I don't see anything against Islam or against my beliefs"

With this video we can see that Kandari and Gaither arguments are not applicable to every campaign and therefore are not consistent and researched enough to make such powerful statements  

Sexiness for everyone, everywhere

For my first article i would like to show you a 2009 German commercial for a German lingerie brand called "Liaison Dangereuse". This retailer is looking to expand their market to the middle east and reach Arabic and Muslim women’s attention.

I love this commercial as at first we don’t expect the woman to wear a niquab as she is acting very sexy and seductive and the choice of music is very interesting as it creates a sensual atmosphere while the model and actress Miriam Wimmer is playing and almost flirting with her reflection in the mirror. The commercial  starts as a usual lingerie commercial and the end is very unexpected with the model wearing a niquab and the tag ” sexiness for everyone”.

The other interesting point is the name of the brand ” Liaison dangereuse ” which means “Dangerous affairs” or “Dangerous relationship” in French. We can from there understand the complex relationship between the modesty and reserve of Arabic and Muslim women and their sexual outward appearance and their intimate and private sphere where they are free to wear what ever they want and feel as sexy, sensual, seductive  and voluptuous as any other women.