Young Adult Books for

Young Adult Books for Muslim Teens

Teachers and parents should help Muslim teens select Islamic-themed Young Adult (YA) publications

BY FREDA SHAMMA

Teachers and parents looking for novels that portray Islamic values have always had a hard time. For example, only a few small books were available in 1969, but they were written for Muslims in South Asia and in the cheapest edition possible with no illustrations. The content was Islamic, but the style was not suitable for or appealing to American children.

By the mid-1970s, the MSA and the Islamic Foundation in the U.K. began publishing a few fiction books. However, mainstream presses had no interest in publishing any books by Muslim authors.

Fast-forward to today. There are several Muslim publishers (and of course mainstream publishers) and a gradual shift from books written by knowledgeable authors with little or no writing talent to confident, talented writings by authors in their teens or early 30s, some of whom have little or no Islamic knowledge.

WHILE WE WELCOME THE OUTPOURING OF LITERATURE FOR AND BY SKILLED YOUNG AMERICAN, BRITISH AND AUSTRALIAN WRITERS, WE ALSO NOTE A SERIOUS DILEMMA — MAINSTREAM PRESSES ARE NOW EAGER TO PUBLISH MUSLIM AUTHORS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY INCLUDE GLIMPSES INTO MUSLIM CULTURE, BUT LOOK FOR BOOKS THAT PORTRAY ISLAM AND/OR MUSLIM CULTURES NEGATIVELY.

While we welcome the outpouring of literature for and by skilled young American, British and Australian writers, we also note a serious dilemma — mainstream presses are now eager to publish Muslim authors, especially when they include glimpses into Muslim culture, but look for books that portray Islam and/or Muslim cultures negatively. In short, they tend to feature Muslims who have a problem with practicing Islam.

Of the 60 books I reviewed for this article, 26 are romance novels where “love” is the dominant feature — 21 feature a Muslim girl with a non-Muslim boyfriend. The title“All American Muslim Girl” specifically talks of the need for “wiggle” room to decide which Islamic practices to do fully or partially. This one ends with her declaring, “I am a practicing Muslim, but I’m keeping my (non-Muslim) boyfriend.”

The Islamic Schools League of America (ISLA; https://theisla.org/) has an online forum where principals and teachers can share their needs and advice. A recurring topic is what good books can we suggest for our teens.

Some of the responses given over the years have been: Goodreads has many Muslim YA books, with some emphasis on history and current events. • Afoma Umesi has a blog for this demographic • It’s been hard to find quality fiction since 2000. Screen any book before using it in class • Have characters true to life, including dealing with secular issues • An all-or-nothing false dichotomy between the need to be the ideal Muslim or to leave Islam stresses out young Muslims. Show diversity among the character’s levels of Islam. Our youth don’t like “goody-goody” characters who do no wrong.

Other responses include: “Does My Head Look Big In This?” is not an Islamic book. If anything, it might make a young woman doubt that wearing a hijab is fard • Review any book first because some titles are very misleading. For example, “Bestest Ramadan Ever” has a character who doesn’t want to fast or go to the mosque, and wants to date a non-Muslim boy • Letting a teen read a certain book on his/her own may be problematic; however, it might be a good book to teach in a literature class. Using critical reading skills and analysis of the book’s various elements can be a good learning experience.

Indeed, Muslim youth want and need to see characters like themselves in interesting books. This is one of two important reasons for giving them books to read. The other

Muslim Young Adults Booklist

The majority of these authors are second- or third-generation North American Muslims. Authors from other countries or in other countries are noted.

[NOTE: * Islamic School Librarian (ISL); ** Good Reads (GR)] 1. Aboulela, Leila. “The Translator.” Proper Islamic ethics, including Muslim and non-Muslim love story. Sudanese in England 2. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. “Does My Head Look Big in This?” Not recommended by Muslim teachers. Australian author 3. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. “The Lines We Cross.” Dating, lying, alcohol, clubbing (ISL*). 4. Abdel-Magied, Yassmin. “You Must Be Leila.” Main character is gay (ISL). 5. Abdulaziz, Sahar. “Unlikely Friends.” Parents are drug addicts (ISL). 6. Ahmed, Samira. “Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know.” Lots of kissing, implied concubine activities with a Pasha and his lover. 7. Ahmed, Samira. “Love, Hate, and Other Filters.” Stifling parents who won’t let her do what she wants, non-Muslim boyfriend, dates a Hindu, lying, gay character, Islam mentioned but not followed (ISL). 8. Ahmed, Samira. “Internment.” Boyfriend, kisses, former President Trump as dictator, gay couple mentioned. 9. Ali, S. K. “Love from A to Z.” Both Muslims don’t cross the line, “Islamophobic teacher” (ISL). 10. Ali, S. K. “Saints and Misfits.” Romance, sexual attack, lying, bullying (ISL). 11. Arafat, Zaina. “You Exist Too Much.” Main character is a gay Muslim. 12. Barakat, Ibtisam. “Tasting the Sky.” Memory of author growing up in Palestine, war (ISL). 13. Courtney, Nadine. “All American Muslim Girl.” Non-Islamic behavior, dating, a main character is gay, she wants Islam to have “wiggle room” (ISL). 14. Dumas, Firoozeh. “It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel.” Iranian, funny (ISL). 15. Faruqui, Saadia. “A Thousand Questions.” Two girls, one American Pakistani and the other the daughter of a servant in Pakistan, share their cultures with each other. Clean (ISL). 16. Gratz, Allan. “Allies.” WWII, D-Day, Muslim Algerian French girl and her mother spy for the French resistance (ISL); non-Muslim American author. 17. Gratz, Allan. “Refugees.” Syrian boy fleeing violence, trying to get to Germany (ISL); non-Muslim American. 18. Husain, Aliya. “Neither This Nor That.” Good Muslima in a good family (ISL). 19. Hiranandani, Veera. “The Night Journey.” Indian Hindu author, but fair and accurate about the partition of India, character is half-Hindu, half-Muslim (ISL). 20. Hussain, Nadiya. “The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters.” The four sisters each have their own problems and interests; clean. Author is British bake-off winner. 21. Jaigirdar, Adiba. “The Henna Wars.” Gay main character, romance. 22. Janmohamed, Shelina Zahra. “Love in a Headscarf.” English Muslim trying for an arranged marriage. 23. Javid, Mohammed. “Walk to Freedom.” The partition of India.” Fictionalized version of author’s parents’ story as refugees during the Partition. 24. Joukhadar, Zeyn. “The Map of Salt and Stars.” Excellent historical novel of two girls living 800 years apart who take parallel journeys. One is a modern-day Syrian refugee seeking safety and the other is an apprentice to map maker Idrisi who leaves Sicily to return to

Morocco by land during the Crusades. 25. Karim, Sheba. “Skunk Girl.” Romance with a crush on a non-Muslim. She realizes that it won’t work and that she’s happy to be a practicing Muslim (GR**). 26. Karim, Sheba. “That Thing We Call A Heart.” Character is Muslim in name only, sexual activity. 27. Kessler, Christine. “Trouble in Timbuktu.” Two Malian siblings help protect ancient manuscripts, some hazardous travel. 28 Khan, Sabina. “Zara Hossain is Here.” Pakistani immigrant deals with Islamophobia. 29. Khanani, Intisar. “Thorn.” Retelling of a fairy tale, the wise heroine refuses to marry the prince, attempted sexual assault (ISL).

30. Kullab, Samya. “Escape from Syria.” Accurate account about the ongoing violence, etc. (ISL). 31. La Valley, Josanne. “The Vine Basket.” Muslim Uyghurs, village under

Chinese control, accurate information (ISL). 32. Lum, Melati. “Ayesha Dean – The Istanbul Intrigue.” Mystery infused with history (ISL). 33. Lumbard, Rabiah Y. “No True Believers.” Non-practicing family, girl with

Muslim boyfriend, kissing, marijuana, cursing, lesbian, Islamophobia. 34. Malherbe, Shereen. “The Tower.” Syrian refugee living in a tower block almost destroyed by fire in London. 35. Malek, Afshan. “Pieces.” Syrian family living in Texas, father has PTSD, mental problems. 36. Marsh, Katherine. “Nowhere Boy.” Refugee in Belgium, lying, middle-school level (ISL). 37. Masood, M. Syed. “More Than Just A Pretty Face.” Romance By a male and main character is male who wants a Muslim girlfriend. Good. 38. Mills, Wendy. “All We Have Left.” 9/11. Story told from the point of view of a girl in the tower and many years later a girl who’s brother had died in the tower. 39. Mir, Saira. “Muslim Girls Rise.” Nonfiction, contemporary. 40. Muhammad, Ibtihaj. “Proud: Living My American Dream.” Autobiography (ISL), inspiring. 41. Nelson, Colleen. “Sadia.” Likes a boy, but clean (ISL, GR). 42. Next Wave Muslim Initiative. “I Am the Night Sky.” Ten practicing Muslim teens share their thoughts and skills in art and various writing genres.

Good. 43. Papademetriou, Lisa. “A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic.” The only magic is a book (ISL). 44. Paterson, Katherine. “The Day of the Pelican.” Historical novel, starts with the horrors in Kosovo during the late 1990s and concludes with 9/11 (ISL). 45. Riazi, Karuna. “The Gauntlet.” Muslim take on Jumaji (ISL). 46. Robert, Na’ima B. “She Wore Red Trainers.” Muslim halal romance. 47. Saeed, Aisha. “Amal Unbound.” Leaves Islam out, but overall tame (ISL). 48. Saeed, Aisha. “Written in the Stars.” Leaves Islam out (ISL). 49. Safi, Aminah Mae. “Not the Girls You’re Looking For.” Sex, drugs, alcohol, lying, cheating, lesbian, and no good relationships (ISL). 50. Senzai, N. H. “Ticket to India.” Partition of India (ISL). Information about the partition is interwoven with the story about a contemporary family visit to Pakistan. 51. Sharafeddine, Fatima. “The Servant.” War-torn Lebanon. 52. Sharif, Medeia. “Bestest. Ramadan. Ever.” Anti-Islamic practices by main character and non-Muslim boyfriend. 53. Jaigirdar, Adiba. “The Henna Wars.” Gay main character, romance.

Author is Bangladeshi living in Ireland 54. Wilson W. G. “Ms. Marvel,” Vol. 1: “No Normal.” One of three Ms. Marvel graphic novels. Ms. Marvel has superpowers and is also practicing

Muslim. 55. Warga, Jasmine. “Other Words for Home.” Syrian refugee facing life in

America (ISL, GR). 56. Yousafzai, Malala. “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” Nobel Peace Prize winner

Malala’s own story 57. Zia, Farhana. “The Garden of My Imaan.” Teen-aged Muslima wonders how she fits in while attending an American school, writes a series of letters to Allah hoping that her faith will grow in the garden of her imaan. 58. Zoboi, Ibi and Yusef Salaam. “Punching the air” a young, black, Muslim teen writes his truth in powerful verse. (ISL) reason is to help them deal with their doubts and problems according to Islamic guidelines.

The Quran deals with and gives the wisest advice for all kinds of conflicts a person may encounter. We may not like learning that doing the right thing might be very hard, but we will eventually discover that He knows what is best for us.

I prefer books that help our youth deal with their conflicts constructively; however, it’s really up to the parents and teachers to choose what books their children and teachers should read. In addition, librarians usually have a list of well written and interesting books for children of all ages, as does www.goodreads.com although they do not evaluate ethics

A non-Muslim, Umasi’s blog at www.afomaumesi.com says that there are many good books for Muslim teens and recommends 15 books for them. However, most of these are romances, and many of them feature Muslim girls with non-Muslim boyfriends.

In my review of books, I have indicated which of the books on my list both Umasi and goodreads have recommended.

The only site I found that takes ethics into consideration is librarian and mother Karin Nabi’s www. Islamicschoollibrarian.wordpress.com. Her reviews give the book’s complete summary, her personal reaction, why she likes it, flags for what’s not Islamic and tools for leading the discussion in a Muslim youth book club.

Among the problems with many of the YA books, and especially those published by mainstream presses, are dysfunctional and or non-practicing Muslim families; rebellious youth vs. strict parents; teens lying in order to go out with their non-Muslim friends and or boyfriend; main characters who ignore one or more of the Five Pillars; some stories that are “Islamic” because they are advertised as being for Muslims; and featuring alcohol, drugs, clubbing, bad language and violence and gay individuals, sometimes just mentioned in passing and occasionally as the main Muslim character, and often the phrase “They are born that way.”

Not all romance books are bad, and there are many good non-romance books as well as several books that are half romance but contain something Muslims should know and think about. Samira Ahmed’s “Internment” has a lot of teenage romance, but the background is a dictator who sounds a lot like Donald Trump (his actual words) and puts Muslims into internment camps.

Another one is Syed Masood’s “More Than Just A Pretty Face.” A long essay that the main character is required to write about Winston Churchill brings out the British government’s racist attitude that resulted in millions of Bengalis starving to death.

In Randa Abdel-Fattah’s “The Lines We Cross,” the non-Muslim boyfriend’s family is involved with an anti-immigrant group. His parents are good to their son but truly believe, as many racists do, that they are only thinking of their country’s good when they resist immigration and refugees.

If you need more than my short comments on a book, then please see the reviews at www.Islamicschoollibrarian. wordpress.com. ih