The Perplexing Status Quo for Muslim Fiction

In the category of young adult (YA) fiction, one can find a relatively solid number of Muslim-oriented novels, some of which are consistently championed in the Muslim novel-reading community for their positive representation of Muslims. Through mass marketing, these portrayals are lauded and viewed as authentic. Though I do not personally read young adult fiction, it recently occured to me that I could perhaps curate a small Muslim fiction collection in the library of the school where I work. I began to research the most popular YA novels which were repeatedly garnered praised across social media. The project was exciting, I hoped that teenagers seeing themselves in such novels would not only lead them to read more books, but also aid them in feeling proud and confident in their identities. Continue reading The Perplexing Status Quo for Muslim Fiction

A Call to Action: Health Education Delivery in Islamic Schools is a Matter of Faith

Muslim youth of today face the worse of times: we are being raised in a culturally imperialistic society and are constantly faced with covert assaults on our iman (faith). This is not just confined to Muslim youth in the West, the monoculture has also seeped into the traditional Muslim world. Though parents who immigrated to the West may lack awareness of the external influences on their children, the fitnah is rampant and unavoidable. Unlawful acts such as smoking, drug use, and drinking are widespread. Continue reading A Call to Action: Health Education Delivery in Islamic Schools is a Matter of Faith

The Fountain of Youth

Across the ages, continents and sciences, Muslims, even teenage Muslims, contributed to the scholarly fabric that has been passed down to us from generation to generation.

‘Take advantage of your youth before your old age’. This statement of the Messenger ﷺ was not lost upon the Muslims of the past. Taking advantage of time and youth can be done in several ways. One of these ways is embedded in the culture of teaching and learning that permeates throughout the Islamic world. The contributions of scholars of the past in the Islamic world across the various religious and secular sciences are far too many to be enumerated. Such contributions and advances were only made possible by the underlying social infrastructure, intellectual meritocracy and collective social concern. Continue reading The Fountain of Youth