Dear Muslim Girl Subscriber/Supporter:
My name is Ausma Khan and as the Editor in Chief of Muslim Girl Magazine, I want to personally thank you for the overwhelming encouragement, enthusiasm and support you have given Muslim Girl from its inception to its present reality.
As many of you have noticed, we have not published an issue since our April/May Spring Fashion Issue of 2008. Unfortunately, with the current state of the economy and the overall decline in the print industry, Muslim Girl has faced difficult obstacles on its road to continued publication, including an advertising industry that is risk-averse to our name and audience. While we believe these obstacles can be overcome with time, they do pose a challenge as we consider our future and our possible options.
We are extremely heartened by the continued devotion of our many subscribers, readers and well-wishers. Every day we have new inquiries and new pleas for continued publication. Our goal was always to celebrate the voices of Muslim girls and to define them in their own words and own geographic context. When we began, we whole-heartedly believed that Muslim Girls who have grown up in North America make an inspiring, enlightened contribution to their communities every day. Eight issues later, our faith is more than justified. In fact, we’ve received more amazing stories about Muslim Girls than we can possibly cover – demonstrating both the progress our communities have made and the hope we have for the future.
There can be no more critical time to add your voices to the mainstream discourse on Muslims in North America than now. We hope to have the opportunity to do our part again in the future, but for now we deeply regret that Muslim Girl must suspend publication.
We believe that the Muslim market as a unique and attractive consumer group is on the verge of a breakthrough with the advertising industry, but for now we must consider other solutions. We continue to pursue additional sources of funding from partners who share our vision and believe in our goals. We welcome any interested parties to contact us, and if you would like to express your support for Muslim Girl, you can write to us here.
As we pursue our goals, we ask for your patience and thank you for the tremendous goodwill you have demonstrated thus far. We assure you that if you have signed up for a subscription with Muslim Girl, we will indeed send you six issues, although these may be back issues. If you already possess all our back issues and instead wish for a refund, please let us know and we will ensure you receive your refund as quickly as possible.
These are difficult times for Muslims – indeed the recent election campaign in the United States demonstrates how much ground we still have to cover. Yet we remain inspired and encouraged by the strides young Muslims take every day and by the strength of their determination to claim their place in their communities and to make the world around them better as a result of their actions.
We also know that through the grace of God, Muslim Girl has been able to make a significant impact. We were consulted by government and non-government agencies giving us the opportunity to share our concerns and contribute our talents. We worked with many inter-faith groups and seized every opportunity for dialogue with anyone who expressed an interest in Muslim Girl or extended a hand of welcome to us. We gave more than 200 press interviews to mainstream media outlets – allowing us to contribute Muslim perspectives to a media culture that infrequently consults them. And perhaps most significantly, we were asked by high schools, libraries and universities to add our perspective to numerous research projects and curriculum materials.
Throughout our history we have been welcomed, challenged, intrigued, provoked, supported—and transformed by hope. Muslim and non-Muslim alike, our readers represent the best in human decency and we thank you for helping us to build the bridges we crossed over together.
As we consider the future of Muslim Girl, we hope that you will continue to support independent publications that represent your voice and that you will take ownership in this project of belonging and inclusion we all share. We’ll certainly keep you posted on our efforts.
And finally, to all our amazing Muslim Girls across North America and around the world: on behalf of our entire team I would like to thank you for enlightening, celebrating and inspiring us! It’s been a great ride.
Ausma Khan
Editor in Chief
Muslim Girl Magazine
