Unapologetically Muslim: Writing our Own Stories

Many of us were voracious readers as children, and we devoured whatever fell into our hands. However, most of the stories we read were about characters who bore little resemblance to us. They didn’t share our names, our beliefs, or our lived realities.

So while we did enjoy the stories—the mystery, the adventure, the excitement—we didn’t always connect to them on a deep level. In fact, sometimes it felt like we had to turn off a part of our brain to enjoy the story, since there were things in it that we didn’t agree with.

That’s why it’s so important that we as Muslims tell our own stories—stories where spirituality is a natural part of who we are. Fortunately for our children, the pool of quality books being produced for Muslim kids is growing. At Ruqaya’s Bookshelf, we aim to produce books that are engaging and fun—and that centre around Muslim protagonists that our kids can relate to on a deep level.

One of our newest releases, Trouble at Taraweeh, is a great example of that. In the story, a little girl named Umama has a special duaa prepared for Laylatul Qadr, but trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes. Her pet frog stows away in her bag on one of the final nights of Ramadan, and as expected, chaos ensues at the masjid! Will she be able to make her special duaa after all?

Check out this story about the power of duaa, and take a look at our other titles.