Assalamu-Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

This is my first post on my very own blog! For me being a blogger (or a blagger as some call it) is a whole new experience, as those who know me personally would tell you I am more of a doer than a talker (or even a blagger!)

As the director of Islamic Impressions I understand it to be my mission to cater for the demands of our customers, however at the same time I believe it is a duty to create an appreciation for some of the great Islamic products that are produced in the Muslim World. In Britain, Muslim consumers, like the wider consumer market, are used to buying products which are manufactured using a lot of technology but very little individual craftsmanship. Therefore I decided to spend several months travelling throughout the Muslim World in search of high quality Islamic products that had the attention to detail I believed British Muslims were looking for.

The most amazing thing that I noticed in my travels was the unique craftsmanship in countless products throughout the Muslim world. This craftsmanship inspired me to bring these products to the forefront of our collection and to create an appreciation for these skills and the richness of Islamic culture it adds to the Islamic life style in UK.

The Ummahs dress sense in each region had its own style and charm with full adherence to the Islamic law. In the Middle East I found that the traditional dress known as the jubbah had distinct regional differences. For example in Oman they had their own style of jubbah called ‘Kandoora’ and this was different to the Saudi jubbah even though Oman and Saudi Arabia are neighbouring countries.

I also visited the Far East and South East Asia including Royal Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and China (including Muslim populated districts of China). Over there I noticed a totally different way in which people dressed. For example Malaysian men wore a long sleeved shirt (baju) and trousers with a scarf-like cloth tied around their waist (Songket) and a religious hat (songkok). I also happened to discover a Malaysian Blue Mosque, which would surprise those who associate the ‘blue mosque’ with Turkey… I am sure they would also be dazzled by the Malaysian Blue Mosque because of its beauty and mind-boggling architecture.  

I made my journey to Thailand and visited a mosque where I was warmly greeted by my brothers in Islam. The Muslims in Thailand were really welcoming and amazed to see a Muslim from UK. They introduced me to the Ulema in the mosque and also their students.

Overall, my trip was extremely rewarding in every way- alhamdulillah. I learnt so much about the rich cultures of the Muslim world, and experienced first hand their warmth and excellent hospitality. People are very approachable and are really willing to help when you are in need. A refreshing change from British society, indeed landing back at Heathrow was a massive reality check!

Alhamdulillah, after all that globe trotting I am now back in Britain.  Alhamdulillah, Islamic Impressions has not been affected by the recession so far. This just proves the resilience of the Islamic goods market, as many of our products are considered recession-proof essentials for Muslims who are attached to their deen. We pray to Allah SWT to protect the Ummah from the effects of this man-made economic crisis.

We are keenly pursuing an expansion strategy aimed at increasing our presence and accessibility to the Muslim community across the country and even abroad. Our Denmark Store is still going strong and we have even opened a Store in Trinidad, West Indies! Here in London we are currently settling into new offices based at our 10,000 sq ft warehouse in East London, and the arrival of our various summer collections is imminent. We are extremely excited about the coming 6 months, and with more big projects in the pipeline all I can say is ‘watch this space, inshallah’! J

Aqib

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 6:51 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.