I have limited experience with or exposure to the Muslim community. As an educator, I am vaguely aware of when Ramadan is being celebrated and its potential impact on students. My knowledge about the Muslim Faith and community is limited to what I have read in a variety of fiction stories and the news media. Almost all of the books I have read have been written for children in grades K-8. I have read a few adult books about Muslims and I have absorbed information from the media.
Thinking about where I have garnered my knowledge of Islam brings to mind The Danger of a Single Story TED Talk by Chimananda Ngazi Adichie. Fortunately, the stories I have read have provided a variety of perspectives and not just a single story. While I don’t have academic knowledge of Islam, I do feel that I have an understanding of the essence of the Muslim Faith and community.
It is interesting that the stories I have heard about Muslims have a different feel based on who the target audience is. The news media, especially since 9/11, have created a negative portrayal of Muslims because they focus on radical members of Islam that that the US needs to protect themselves from and stop their spread of violence. The books I have read are The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. These books, both set in Afghanistan, left me with a sense of despair for the lives of people forced to live under the rule of the Taliban. Especially reading about the fact that there were better opportunities in Afghanistan for women before the Taliban and it was much more progressive. But, since the Taliban have taken over, women have lost their basic human rights. I realize these stories are very similar and told in the same time and place. There is much more to the lives of Muslims than what is represented in these stories.
Over the last ten years I have read several middle grade novels and picture books that provide a much broader representation of Islam and Muslim people. Many of these books focus on themes of family and traditions. These stories show the importance of faith, generosity and peace. I think these books show how Muslims and followers of other religions have more in common than differences. These books also show the discrimination faced by Muslims especially in America and help students to develop empathy towards others.
Middle Grade Novels with Muslim Characters:
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
Amina’s Voice by Hen Khan
The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Once Upon an Eid A collection of short stories
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Sadiq series by Siman Nuurali
Planer Omar series by Zanib Mian
Picture Books:
The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj
Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Yo Soy Muslim by Mark Gonzales
Under the Ramadon Moon by Sylvia Whitman
Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Night of the Moon by Hena Khan
Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadon Story by Reem Faruqi
Moon Watchers by Reza Jalali
