A bikinied Barbie doll might send shivers of loathing down a pious Muslim Damascene parent’s spine, but apparently Fulla, a doll that is curiously and impossibly proportioned like Barbie but imbued with “Muslim values,” is sending parents scurrying to the toy stores.

There have been other dolls garbed in traditional Islamic attire, including an Iranian Sara (who is veiled), an American Razanne, and an absurd Orientalist fantasy of a doll called Leila (who is Moroccan) that Mattel, Barbie’s creator, peddled as a slave girl flitting around an Ottoman court. But this new Fulla stands out because people are actually buying her in countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, and Syria (where she was spawned), even with her hefty price tag of 16 U.S. dollars, when the average Syrian per capita income is about 100 U.S. dollars a month.

Fawaz Abidin, Fulla’s brand manager for her creator, NewBoy Design Studio, explains Fulla’s popularity by insisting that “this isn’t just about putting the hijab on a Barbie doll…You have to create a character that parents and children will want to relate to. Our advertising is full of positive messages about Fulla’s character. She’s honest, loving, and caring, and she respects her father and mother.”

The emotional and spiritual qualifications of a plastic doll aside, the interesting aspect of Fulla is whether, how, and to what extent she will affect attitudes towards the hijab, the popularity of which she may popularize and work to solidify for a younger generation.

The hijab most recently drew international attention with the head scarf bans in France and regions of Germany and the attendant movements that formed to guard the rights of women to wear Islamic garb.

Mimi Hanaoka