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Books by Muslim authors
Notable books in honor of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and reflection.
Published on May 12, 2023
Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice
Kazim AliWhat does it take to fast for Ramadan? Ali chronicles partaking in this ritual of fasting during the holy month for Muslims. This audiobook is poetic and personal, spiritual and carnal, and provides a loving, nuanced look at Islamic practices.
It's Not About the Burqa
Mariam KhanAfter hearing the U.K. prime minister make sweeping generalizations about Muslim women in 2016, writer Khan gathered 17 Muslim women authors to set the record straight. The Western Muslim experience is vast and varied, as seen in this essay collection exploring everything from Islamophobia, feminism, and sexuality to one’s decision to wear traditional clothing.
Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices
S. K. AliFocusing on themes like family, community, and faith, this wholesome collection of short stories showcases the unique traditions of Eid within different countries. If you’re looking to expand your knowledge of the varied and colorful celebrations of Islam, “Once Upon an Eid” is a fun way to learn some of the basics. Contributors include acclaimed Muslim writers like G. Willow Wilson and Hanna Alkaf.
Letters to a Young Muslim
Omar Saif GhobashAs the former United Arab Emirates ambassador to Russia, Ghobash knows the struggle of maintaining a strong connection to his cultural identity in the face of increasing Islamophobia. In a series of letters to his two sons, Ghobash explains how to balance faith, the modern world, wisdom, and love.
Naturally Tan: A Memoir
Tan FranceBefore becoming a member of the Fab Five on Netflix’s wildly popular “Queer Eye” series, France was a young Muslim boy from a South Asian family living in predominantly white South Yorkshire, England. This memoir, read by the author, is a compassionate, inspiring journey about overcoming racism, homophobia, and self-doubt to embrace his dreams of fashion design.
Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening
Manal al-SharifIn her memoir, al-Sharif tells the story of how she became an accidental activist in the fight that won Saudi women the right to drive. From her adolescence as a strictly religious Muslim in Mecca to her years as a young woman in the business world and the restrictions placed upon her, this is an uplifting story of how one voice can effect change.
Burqas, Baseball, and Apple Pie: Being Muslim in America
Ranya Tabari IdlibyBeing Muslim in America isn’t easy. In her memoir, author Idliby shares the story of raising her own American Muslim family, navigating a world that has been conditioned to fear Islam, and the struggle to assimilate into their own communities.
Trust Your Heart: Lead Your Journey to Self-Discovery From Within
Najwa ZebianZebian, a Muslim activist and author who made waves when she decided to stop wearing her hijab, provides helpful advice on how to heal from past traumas with partners, parents, and friends to foster a healthy relationship with the most important person in your life — yourself. “Trust Your Heart” is a spiritual journey of self-discovery.
The Kite Runner
Khaled HosseiniThis modern classic follows two young boys, Amir and Hassan, whose lives are more intertwined than they could ever imagine. “The Kite Runner” is a saga of friendship, betrayal, and redemption in war-torn Afghanistan and beyond. Hosseini pulled off a rare feat for a writer by following this multiple award-winning debut with novels of equal caliber, including “A Thousand Splendid Suns.”
The Stationery Shop
Marjan KamaliA stationary shop — a place of stories waiting to be told, of connections to be made — brings together two poetry lovers. But they’re torn apart on the eve of their wedding by the political chaos of Tehran in the 1950s. In this 2019 bestseller, Kamali weaves a rich tapestry that touches on politics, class, food, and the timelessness of love.
Death is Hard Work: A Novel
Khaled KhalifaRefusing to leave his war-torn country, Syrian writer Khalifa wrote his darkly funny Odyssean quest while violence raged around him. When Bolbol’s father Abdel dies, he sets out to fulfill Abdel’s wish to be buried next to his sister in a faraway village. Accompanied by his estranged siblings, Bolbol encounters many heart-pounding clashes on a dangerous journey during a civil war.
A Woman Is No Man: A Read with Jenna Pick
Etaf Rum“A Woman is No Man” focuses on three generations of women in a Palestinian family all grappling with gendered societal and cultural expectations. The central focus is on Isra, who enters into an arranged marriage, and her daughter, Deya, who wants a different future. This debut novel from Palestinian American author Rum explores the choices women are forced to make and the power of using their voices.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Mohsin HamidA Pakistani man tells an unnamed American interlocutor the story of how he fell in and out of love with America pre- and post-9/11. This affecting novel challenges common presumptions and poses thought-provoking questions about America’s influence in Islamic countries.
The Black Book: A Novel
Orhan PamukBefore becoming a Nobel prize-winning author in 2006, Pamuk wrote “The Black Book,” a preview of his literary greatness. This unconventional story about a lawyer posing as his missing wife’s brother in order to solve her mysterious disappearance is a darkly comic meditation on identity.
You Exist Too Much: A Novel
Zaina ArafatWhen the narrator, a Palestinian American teenager living in Bethlehem, comes out to her mother as queer, her mother responds with the titular “You exist too much.” This is one of many poignant scenes in Arafat’s beautiful debut novel that deals with identity (cultural, religious, and sexual) and how hard growing up can be, no matter your circumstances.
The Startup Wife: A Novel
Tahmima AnamIn this deliciously biting satire, a gifted MIT doctoral student and her husband create an app that uses artificial intelligence to simulate religious experiences for nonreligious folks. The app blows up into a huge success, making them look like the ultimate power couple — but their achievement sends their lives careening in opposite directions.
Zara Hossain Is Here
Sabina Khan“Zara Hossain is Here” is one of the most pointed and heartbreaking looks at issues affecting immigrants in America, from the long green card process to constant microaggressions (which often escalate into something more). Set in Corpus Christi, Texas, the book is based on author Khan’s experience growing up Bangladeshi in a mostly white town.
Palace Walk
Naguib MahfouzIn 1988, Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first writer in the Arabic language to do so. His most famous work is the “Cairo” trilogy, which chronicles the lives of three generations of a 20th-century Muslim family as they live through the British occupation of Cairo. This drama is incredibly layered, and explores the juxtaposition between how families appear to the world versus who they really are behind closed doors.
The Bird King
G. Willow WilsonCaught up in the violent clash of cultures during the Spanish Inquisition, a concubine and a mapmaker accused of sorcery escape from a royal palace. Desperately fleeing for their lives, the pair encounter a kaleidoscope of fantastical creatures on their dangerous path to freedom. Wilson (“Alif the Unseen”) delivers a gripping adventure for fans of literary fiction and fantasy.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A Novel
Shannon ChakrabortyAmina al-Sirafi, who left a daring life of piracy after becoming a mother, is pulled into a new adventure when a former crew member’s daughter is kidnapped. This trilogy-starter by Chakraborty (“The City of Brass”) is an action-packed historical fantasy with a multi-layered heroine we’ve all been waiting for.
This Woven Kingdom
Tahereh MafiThis enemies-to-lovers tale has an emotional plot, beautiful prose, and major “Cinderella” vibes when the protagonist, a lowly servant, becomes the heir to the Jinn kingdom. National Book Award-nominated author Mafi describes this as “‘Game of Thrones’ set in the Persian empire.” Follow it up with the sequel, “These Infinite Threads.”
The Awakening of Malcolm X: A Novel
Ilyasah ShabazzEnraged by a false imprisonment, Malcolm X channeled his fury into a quest for knowledge and dedication to righting injustice. Written by his daughter along with award-winning author Jackson, this fictionalized account of his journey does a great job of demonstrating the major impact Malcolm X’s Muslim faith had on his work as a civil rights activist.
Punching the Air
Ibi ZoboiAmal, a gifted Black Muslim artist and poet, is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, and he must rely on his art to maintain his sense of self. Award-winning author Zoboi teams up with Salaam — one of the “Exonerated Five,” formerly called the “Central Park Five” — to deliver a powerful and beautifully written novel-in-verse that explores racism and the deeply rooted failings of the U.S. judicial system.
All-American Muslim Girl
Nadine Jolie CourtneyWith her blonde hair and hazel eyes, Allie Abraham has been passing as non-Muslim in her hometown of Atlanta. But when she starts to embrace her heritage, she encounters aggression in two conflicting forms: Islamophobia and claims that she isn’t “Muslim enough.” Courtney’s award-winning coming-of-age story explores Allie’s journey of self-discovery in a relatable way.
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know
Samira AhmedRich in adventure, art history, and Parisian ambience, Ahmed’s YA mystery moves between centuries as it explores colonialism and how women are erased from history. In present-day Paris, Muslim teenager Khayyam retraces the life of Leila, a 19th-century woman featured in a Eugène Delacroix painting. Chapters from Leila’s perspective add rich context from a time when women’s desires were pushed to the side.
I Hope You Get This Message
Farah Naz RishiWhen an alien race threatens to destroy Earth, three teenagers try to make the most of the time they have left. Adeem searches for his estranged sister, while Cate tries to find her absent father and Jesse scams desperate people. Their paths weave together in this YA speculative fiction that gets to the heart of what truly matters in life — and at the end of it.
A Million to One
Adiba Jaigirdar“A Million to One” is a YA sapphic romance, historical fiction, and lively heist all in one. In 1912, petty thief Josefa and her motley crew of misfits board the RMS Titanic where they’ll use their various skills, from contortionism to forgery, to steal a rare and bejeweled book of poetry. Jaigirdar (“The Henna Wars”) builds tension via the characters’ relationships and thieving antics along with a countdown to the impending disaster.
Love from A to Z
S. K. AliAnger, love, and loss play heavily in this coming-of-age romance with genre-defying depth. Zayneb, a hijabi teenager facing discrimination from her Islamaphobic teacher, meets Adam, a grieving college student with multiple sclerosis, on a plane to Doha, Qatar. They bond over the shared struggle to find their place in the world. Ali continues their story in this book’s sequel, “Love from Mecca to Medina.”