Tempo came across a unique group of Emirati girls who call themselves ‘The Muses’. The five, who go only by their assumed identities, launched Muse Majlis in Ramadan to inspire community thinking and giving. The Muses identify themselves as Muse 1 as the ‘The Strong One,’ ‘Muse 2 as the‘The Flower in the Teapot,’ Muse 3 as ‘The Light,’ Muse 4 as ‘The Glue’ and Muse 5 as ‘The Old Soul. Tempo attended the charity event they organized, and was attended by over 300 guests who came together to raise money for charity. The event was exquisite in its uniqueness, but what was more compelling to Tempo was the creative thinking of the young ladies. Here’s our chat with ‘The Muses’…
Tempo: What is the Muse Concept?
Muse 1: Basically we’re five girls that came together, and we all have a mutual interest and were pretty much connected in giving back to society. We all contribute in different ways which makes us special.
Muse 5: In Greek mythology, muse (pronounced Muze) were gods of inspiration. There were muses of music, art, poetry. Muses are usually depicted holding symbolic items that depict what they represent. We presented each muse as what they represent.
Tempo: so what is the Muse Majlis?
Muse 2: We wanted to create a very informal way for girls to gather together, and eat, play games and socialize while still having an intellectual concept.
Muse 1: She created a world where girls could have intellectual conversations.
Muse 4: We wanted to have girls be inspired. We wanted to break the barrier of thinking “Oh yeah a girls majlis, it’s probably filled with gossip.”
Tempo: What are the goals or angles you girls are coming from?
We’re coming from two different angles. Muse 1 wanted to create a charity event while I really wanted to create a platform to support small to medium enterprises that are local based, meaning that the businesses do not have to be locally funded, but they just have to be based here in the UAE. I wanted to create a platform that would help them expand, but not only growth expansion wise but rather to grow with the entrepreneurial spirit and think outside the box. Off course we wouldn’t support these businesses financially but rather give them spirit and guidelines.
Tempo: How long did it take to plan all this? And when did you ladies get the idea?
Muse 3: There has been a lack of sleep in all of this because we don’t sleep! We have a whatsapp group we communicate through always, and any free time we get with each other, we’re always focusing and determined to get it done. It’s sort of like a Ramadan Miracle if you allow me to say it, we thought of the idea 10 days ago and we wanted to make it happen.
Muse 1: We’re all so blessed and we’re young but we want to take the little step now, and just give back to society.
Tempo: Why do the muses prefer to hide the identities?
Muse 1: The Muses choose not to reveal our identities because we would like The Muse Majlis to prosper and grow based on the success of the events. Also, with charity it is better not to reveal one’s identity and the muses choose to do so. The muses are not looking for fame even though most family and friends know who the ladies are, they prefer to sit backstage and run the show discretely.
Tempo: What kind of advice would you give to much younger people?
Muse 5: We would open our hearts and mind to them. We want to inspire them by giving pep talks and tell them to think of a different idea because everyone should be innovative in their own way.
Muse 5: Your uniqueness sells.
Muse 4: There are no rules for anything. .
Tempo: Your future events or plans?
Muse 1: We want to give back to society and stick to our vision. We’re going to have seasonal events and continue to have them within the majlis feel. The majlis is portable and nomadic. We’re possibly thinking of expanding in different countries which we don’t want to disclose just yet.
Follow the Muses via @themusemajlis and on instagram!
By Alia Youssef
