Senior imam of Khazret-Sultan mosque Kairat Zholdybaiuly opposes sales of dolls in Arab-style hijabs in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews.kz reports. Sales of the dolls have recently started in Moscow shops.

According to the imam, the majority of explicitly dressed dolls became some kind of an attribute of politics and propaganda of “stripping”. “Any doll that a kid plays with leaves a trace in his or her perception of the world. In future they will strive to look like this stereotype. I don’t support sales of dolls in Arab-Style hijabs. Instead we should rather bring our kids up in the national style,” the imam said.

He gave an example of Kadyrali Bolmanov’s project Bal Bala. These dolls, he has said, give children an understanding of the national traditions. “We need dolls dressed in Kazakh style: long beautiful dresses and saukele (Kazakh national women’s hat). Last year the Spiritual Management of Muslims organized a show of Muslim women’s clothes that meets all requirements. These clothes can be used for making dolls,” Zholdybaiuly added.

Tengrinews.kz also talked to the official distributor of Fulla dolls in the Customs Union (Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus). According to the company’s representative Feraz Abdoldin, the dolls are sold in hijabs and Abayas (cloaks) and in European clothes. Fulla has a wide range of models.

“As for the imam’s statement, I can say that it is everyone's right to buy or not to buy these dolls, nobody makes anyone do it. We have just entered the Russian market and our dolls are of demand in the shops,” he said. “Yes, these dolls bear a certain idea. It is necessary to understand that hijab is not just a name of a clothes, but a rule for Muslim women’s clothing.”

According to Abdoldin, Fulla’s official distributor has no plans to sell “Muslim” dolls in Kazakhstan yet. At least, the negotiations have not been started with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Trade yet, Abdoldin says.


By Linda Buran