The Somali Fashion Center & Mall
Having stood for over 30 years in Fairfax County, VA, the importation of goods from places such as Turkey, Dubai, Somalia, and many other countries with Islamic grounding not only have served the business of immigrants in the Somali Mall, but have created a warmth that reminds its customers of home. The Somali Fashion Center lives just across the street and shares the same nature. A community built on numerous mother tongues and gentle praises to Allah. Fabrics experienced in color cover the walls, and voices raise as people barter for them. Whispered conversations of a child having passed and elders not knowing what Thanksgiving is. Pungent scents of Oud blanketing the cosmetic shelves. At 5:44 pm, an influx of men on their way home from work, militantly gather in the prayer room and shop owners join them. The women kneel beside their shop corners.
Songs of the Qur’an lay in the background and transport one to a place that seems far from the West. Mirian tells stories of her fleeing Kenya by ship, and shares her wisdom on honesty. Fatima dreams of seeing the world, and Zeynab probably knows how to heal your back, Inshallah.
Women enclose their beauty behind the waves of their hijabs’ in unison with the mannequins that encircle them. It is a loving competition that these shops share, and the understanding of their customers’ needs. It is more than a place to exchange goods, but a place to exchange their comfort. It is the tea shared amongst conversation and the hands that make chicken and rice to serve on Friday afternoon lunch breaks. It is a look and a smile and a “peace be upon you”.