It was January 1987. A pall of gloom was hanging over the Muslim community in Bangalore. An incident in the city had left some intellectuals from the community wondering if Muslims had lost their voice. There was virtually no English media of their own at that time to express their stand on various issues. Muslims were not inclined towards writing on issues that mattered.
In such a scenario, we decided to set up Islamic Voice with the intention of focusing on spiritual values as well as social issues. We wanted to present the true essence of Islam. We started off with eight pages in black and white. I remember sitting late hours at night choosing the articles, making the layout and even driving on my scooter to the printers, along with my trusted assistant Mr. Prabakhar on pillion.
Slowly, we increased the number of pages to 16, and then to 32. In the days when there were no mobile phones and Internet, our writers would send handwritten stories to us by post! We were printing 15,000 copies, which was a fairly impressive number.
Our presence in Bangalore in particular, and in Karnataka in general, grew more visible and advertisers began placing their ads in Islamic Voice. The 32 pages also included glossy colour pages, which attracted advertisers. Advertising revenues supported printing costs, salaries, writers’ remuneration and overheads. This continued till about the end of 2016. In between there were ups and downs, but in all these more than 30 years we did not miss even a single issue, by Allah’s grace and mercy. I sincerely thank all the readers and advertisers for the unflinching support they extended to us.
From 2018, as a result of economic changes and other factors, the situation has changed. We are now facing a major financial challenge. It is now very difficult to get advertisements. Our advertising revenue has been declining, and we still have to pay our printers and cover all the other costs.
It has been a roller coaster ride through 2019 and now 2020. The number of new subscribers is pathetically small. The reading habits of many people have changed. They are now glued to their mobile screens and access the latest news from there. Perhaps it makes little sense for us to continue the magazine.
We thank you for your support!
We would appreciate suggestions, ideas and support from the readers.
Readers could Email to: [email protected] / [email protected] or What’s App to : 6360226419
Sadathullah Khan
Editor
Islamic Voice
COMMENTS
Print media has not lost its importance. We still buy newspapers and I see plenty of newspapers vendors in my area distributing newspapers.