Every time I walk into a store or pass by a television, I gingerly walk a minefield of tiaras, gallant princes, and Disney princesses. Their long flowing hair, beautiful voices, and sparkling eyes call out to us. My four-year-old daughter still does not know the difference between a princess and a bride, but even she stops in her tracks with a hypnotic, dreamy look when she catches a glimpse of Beauty and the Beast playing on the TVs at Costco. Ballroom dresses, long hair, and sparkles are wired into this kid\u2019s genes\u2013even without a TV.<\/p>\n
I loved Disney movies as a child. But for as long as I can, I am hoping to keep my children away from them. Am I making a big deal about a harmless childhood fascination? Maybe. But as an American Muslim and a feminist, I want to protect my daughters from the life lessons they may learn from Aladdin, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty: true love is the most important thing in life, heroines are always drop-dead gorgeous, and you will only be complete when the perfect guy swoops in to save your life. I want to see that incredulous gaze in her eyes, not when listening to a dead-end fairy tale, but when she hears stories of heroism, sacrifice, and struggle. I want her to know that a believing woman can have the strength of a thousand men.<\/p>\n
Within the verses of the Quran and the history of the Islamic movement are rivers of stories waiting to be learned, reinterpreted, and told to our wide-eyed children. Recently, after listening to a lecture on tape, <\/em>I sat for many moments afterward pondering the story of Bilqees, the Queen of Sheba, and Prophet Sulaiman.<\/p>\n It is a fairy tale in the most beautiful sense. A story for a little girl to live by\u2026<\/p>\n (to be continued)<\/p>\n Maha Ezzeddine<\/p>\n Maha Ezzeddine lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and three daughters. She is a dedicated MAS worker, part-time writer,\u00a0 and creative homemaker.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every time I walk into a store or pass by a television, I gingerly walk a minefield of tiaras, gallant princes, and Disney princesses. Their long flowing hair, beautiful voices, and sparkling eyes call out to us. My four-year-old daughter still does not know the difference between a princess and a bride, but even she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1572,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[131,334,394,426,554,630,983,1009,1016],"class_list":["post-318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-motherhood","tag-bilqees","tag-disney-princesses-american-muslim-feminist","tag-fairy-tale","tag-female-role-models","tag-heroism","tag-islamic-parenting","tag-prophet-sulaiman","tag-queen-of-sheba","tag-quran-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n