Sarah Joseph co-founded the magazine with her husband, Mahmud al-Rashid, in September 2003. Joseph was the magazine's editor, and al-Rashid was a volunteer publisher and editor-in-chief. It was the first mainstream Muslim magazine in the UK to experience cross-over interest from non-Muslim readers and its circulation reached 30 countries. Writing in the ''
Journal of Middle East Women's Studies'' in 2010, Reina Lewis claimed: "For emel, lifestyle has the potential to situate modern Muslim practices as part of contemporary consumer culture while simultaneously celebrating Islam's historical heritage."
Lloyds TSB partnered with
emel to launch what it claimed is the first
user-generated content driven community website targeting British Muslims, as part of a campaign to promote the national rollout of its sharia-friendly banking services. The new community website, called
Emel Postcard, allowed members to upload pictures and comments via downloadable "postcards". ==Awards and nominations==