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Muslim traditions can be challenging
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Published: November 8, 2009
Elon University chose Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns for its on-campus read and invited the author to speak at its fall convocation. Hannah skipped English and math class for our quick road trip to Elon, and our afternoon turned out to be one of the most enriching we've spent in a while.
Hannah: Hearing Hosseini speak about his native Afghanistan before and after the Taliban's rule changed the country was extremely powerful. He said that in Afghanistan his educated parents had everything. When they came to America, they were on welfare and food stamps.
Monica: His background was as riveting as his fiction. He shared that he does not travel to his home country as a best-selling author because most of the people in Afghanistan do not read.
Hannah: He established the Khaled Hosseini Foundation to take clean water to areas in need. People walk all day back and forth to rivers just to get dirty water. They spend so much time getting water that they do not have time for jobs.
Monica: In tribute to Hosseini's powerful writing and humanitarian efforts, we bring you books about the Middle East and encourage you to visit www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org to learn more about this area and the inspiring work of Khaled Hosseini, a compassionate man as well as an astounding author.
NIGHT OF THE MOON: A Muslim Holiday Story. By Hena Khan. Chronicle. Ages 4-8. $16.99.
Younger readers may appreciate this appealing book to help understand Muslim traditions. Yasmeen and her family are celebrating the month of Ramadan (September). She watches the moon slowly change as the month passes by. At night when the moon is out, the parties and food are endless. When the full moon comes, Yasmeen can't believe that Ramadan is halfway over! The festivities continue until the night of the moon, or the night before Eid, when the real party begins. Presents are exchanged, and the food is endless. The vivid blue pages add to the book's richness.
TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT ME. By Randa Abdel-Fattah. Scholastic. Ages 12 and up. 297 pages. $16.99.
Racial tension in Jamilah's Australian school causes her to hide her Lebanese-Muslim heritage from even her closest friends. She dyes her hair blonde, wears blue contacts and goes by Jamie.
At home, she loves her close-knit Arabic community even though her oppressive father has become more restrictive since Jamie's mom died of a heart attack. He will not let Jamie hang out with her friends or attend her 10th-grade formal. The only people who know about Jamie's predicament are her brother and sister, until an unknown boy begins to e-mail her. Jamie opens up to him, telling the online friend everything about her identity crisis.
As Jamie tries to prove her responsibility to her father, she also juggles predicaments with her friends. Jamie is worried that her heritage, which she loves dearly, will be discovered by her school and she will be made fun of as a result. The happy ending in this book shows that those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter.
THE AMERICAN MUSLIM TEENAGER'S HANDBOOK: For Muslims and Non-Muslims Alike! By Dilara, Yasmine and Imran Hafiz. Simon & Schuster. Ages 12 and up. 168 pages. $11.99.
Adults and students: This could be the best $12 you will spend on a nonfiction book. This informative book dispels myths and untruths about being a Muslim. Well-written, even humorous at times, this "handbook" covers the history of the Muslim faith tradition and explains its practices and misconceptions about them. It discusses what is appropriate for Muslim American teens to do and even to eat (Krispy Kreme gets a shout out for being halal, or acceptable). We learned so much from this quick and engaging read and highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about Islam and what it is like to be a Muslim teenager in America.
NASREEN'S SECRET SCHOOL: A True Story from Afghanistan. By Jeanette Winter. Simon & Schuster. Ages 6-9. $16.99.
In Afghanistan, girls were not allowed to attend school under the rule of the Taliban. Many secret schools for girls were started. In this true story, Nasreen shuts down after her father is taken by soldiers and her mother disappears to try to find him. Nasreen's grandmother takes her to a secret school in Herat, their city. Little by little, Nasreen learns to read and write, to add and subtract. She even makes a friend and opens up for the first time in months. The most heart-wrenching part is that even today, eight years after the Taliban was overthrown, girls can face death when they attend school.
Monica Young and Kilby Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com. View book reviews at the Journal in Education site at www.jie.journalnow.com.
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