October is Islamic History Month! Islamic history is global history and local history. Celebrate and learn with these diverse selections for all ages, highlighting Islamic culture, history, and authors.
The Muslimah Who Fell to Earth: Personal Stories by Canadian Muslim Women
A collection of 21 personal stories by Muslim Canadian women on what it means to them to be Muslim women and Canadian.
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir
A memoir of Muslim lesbian Samra Habib who grew up in Pakistan and came to Canada as a refugee. In Canada, she faced new challenges including bullies, racism, the threat of poverty, and an arranged marriage.
Book club set also available.
Persepolis
In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to 14, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.
Persepolis 2
In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging. Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria.
The Arab of the Future. Vol 3: A Childhood in the Middle East (1985-1987): A Graphic Memoir
In the third instalment of the acclaimed series, the Sattouf family begins to implode under the pressure of Hafez al-Assad's regime and the suffocation of their rural Syrian village. The Arab of the Future is the widely acclaimed, internationally bestselling graphic memoir that tells the story of Riad Sattouf's peripatetic childhood in the Middle East.
Volume 4 also available.
A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
When Zeina was born, the civil war in Lebanon had been going on for six years, so it's just a normal part of life for her and her parents and little brother. The city of Beirut is cut in two, separated by bricks and sandbags and threatened by snipers and shelling. East Beirut is for Christians, and West Beirut is for Muslims. When Zeina's parents don't return one afternoon from a visit to the other half of the city and the bombing grows ever closer, the neighbours in her apartment house create a world indoors for Zeina and her brother where it's comfy and safe. Grade level: 7-12.
Six Metres of Pavement
Ismail Boxwala made the worst mistake of his life one summer morning twenty years ago: he forgot his baby daughter in the back seat of his car. After his daughter's tragic death, he struggles to continue living. A divorce, years of heavy drinking, and sex with strangers only leave him more alone and isolated. But Ismail's story begins to change after he reluctantly befriends two women: Fatima, a young queer activist kicked out of her parents' home; and Celia, his grieving Portuguese-Canadian neighbour who lives just six metres away.
Love, Hate & Other Filters
17-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There's the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: a good school, an arranged marriage. And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school, living in New York City, pursuing the boy she's liked for ages. But unbeknownst to Maya, there is a danger looming beyond her control. When a terrorist attack occurs in another Midwestern city, the prime suspect happens to share her last name. Grade level: high school.
Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas
In Praying to the West, Mouallem explores the unknown history of Islam across the Americas, traveling to thirteen unique mosques in search of an answer to how this religion has survived and thrived so far from the place of its origin. From California to Quebec, and from Brazil to Canada's icy north, he meets the members of fascinating communities, all of whom provide different perspectives on what it means to be Muslim.
eBook also available
We Are Not Here to be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance
From the Brooklyn bodega her father owned, where Linda learned the real meaning of intersectionality, to protests in the streets of Washington, DC, Linda's experience as a daughter of Palestinian immigrants is a moving portrayal of what it means to find one's voice and use it for the good of others. We follow Linda as she learns the tenets of successful community organizing, and through decades of fighting for racial, economic, gender, and social justice, as she becomes one of the most recognized activists in the nation.
The Map of Salt and Stars
In the summer of 2011, just after Nour loses her father to cancer, her mother moves Nour and her sisters from New York City back to Syria to be closer to their family. In order to keep her father's spirit as she adjusts to her new home, Nour tells herself their favourite story--the tale of Rawiya, a 12th-century girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to apprentice herself to a famous mapmaker. But the Syria Nour's parents knew is changing, and it isn't long before the war reaches their quiet Homs neighbourhood. Grade level: 7-12.
Salam Alaikum
Salam Alaikum means "Peace be upon you." It is the greeting that Muslims around the world use to say "hello" and "good-bye." Using the lyrics to the hit song of the same name, and accompanied by heartwarming illustrations that depict the power of paying it forward, this sweet and charming picture book celebrates kindness and community. Recommended for ages 4-8.
Yo Soy Muslim: A Father's Letter to his Daughter
From Muslim and Latino poet Mark Gonzales comes a touching and lyrical picture book about a parent who encourages their child to find joy and pride in all aspects of their multicultural identity. The vivid and elegant verse, accompanied by magical and vibrant illustrations, highlights the diversity of the Muslim community as well as Indigenous identity. Recommended for ages 4-8.
Un-Canadian: Islamophobia in the True North
Un-Canadian: Islamophobia in the True North is a provocative warning to Canadians that the values they cherish are being eroded through a pattern of political, legal and social prejudice directed towards Muslims in Canada since September 11, 2001.
The Ornament of the World
This history brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain where, for more than seven centuries, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and literature, science, and the arts flourished.
Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction
This very short introduction begins the story of Islamic history; the controversies surrounding its study; and the significance that it holds — for Muslims and for non-Muslims alike. Opening with a lucid overview of the rise and spread of Islam, from the seventh to 21st century, the book charts the evolution of what was originally a small, localized community of believers into an international religion with over a billion adherents.
Angry Queer Somali Boy: A Complicated Memoir
A gay Muslim immigrant, writing from a homeless shelter in Toronto, tells how he ended up there. Mohamed Ali was kidnapped by his father and taken from Somalia as the rebels closed in on Mogadishu, then taken to the Netherlands and later to Canada. Separated from his birth family and caught between Somali tradition and Western culture, he found himself unable to fit in.
The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family
With her new backpack and light-up shoes, Faizah knows the first day of school is going to be special. It's the start of a brand new year and, best of all, it's her older sister Asiya's first day of hijab--a hijab of beautiful blue fabric, like the ocean waving to the sky. But not everyone sees hijab as beautiful, and in the face of hurtful, confusing words, Faizah will find new ways to be strong. Recommended for ages 4-8.
Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices
Once Upon an Eid is a collection of short stories that showcases the most brilliant Muslim voices writing today, all about the most joyful holiday of the year: Eid! Recommended for ages 8-12.
Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes
From a crescent moon to a square garden to an octagonal fountain, this picture book celebrates the shapes - and traditions - of the Muslim world. Recommended for ages 3-5.
No God but God: The Origins and Evolution of Islam
Reza Aslan, internationally acclaimed scholar of comparative religion, delves into the rituals and traditions of a religion that is largely misunderstood by the West. It covers the religion’s origins—the revelation of Muhammad as Prophet and the subsequent uprising against him, and the emergence of his successors—as well as Islam’s complex history.
The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin
When Saladin recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, returning the Holy City to Islamic rule for the first time in almost ninety years, he sent shockwaves throughout Christian Europe and the Muslim Near East that reverberate today. The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin shows how this one man’s life takes us beyond the crude stereotypes of the ‘Clash of Civilisations’ even while his legacy helps explain them: an intimate portrait of a towering figure of world history that is thrillingly relevant today.
Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance
Elucidating complex ideas with engaging prose and storytelling, Reopening Muslim Minds borrows lost visions from medieval Muslim thinkers such as Ibn Rushd to offer a new Muslim worldview on a range of sensitive issues: human rights, equality for women, freedom of religion, or freedom from religion. While frankly acknowledging the problems in the world of Islam today, Akyol offers a clear and hopeful vision for its future.
Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age
Muslim Girl is a candid memoir about coming of age as a Muslim American in the wake of 9/11, during the never-ending war on terror, and through the Trump era of casual racism. Amani Al-Khatahtbeh is the founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com, the #1 Muslim women's blog in the United States.
Muslim Women Are Everything: Stereotype-Shattering Stories of Courage, Inspiration, and Adventure
Muslim Women Are Everything is a celebration of the ways in which past and present Muslim women from around the world are singing, dancing, reading, writing, laughing, experimenting, driving, and rocking their way into the history books.
Minarets on the Horizon: Muslim Pioneers in Canada
This book gives us a detailed look at the Muslim presence in Canada, starting with the pioneer settlers from Syria/Lebanon and the Balkans in the early twentieth century and moving on to the more modern midcentury arrivals from South Asia and Africa. Told in their own words, the stories in this collection give us a rare insight into the lives of these pioneer Muslims.
