By S. K. Ali, Aisha Saeed
Celebrating Eid through diverse Muslim experiences
Subject
Themes
This anthology celebrates Eid through fifteen diverse stories by Muslim authors, each exploring different facets of this joyous Islamic holiday. Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan's month of fasting, whilst Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the willingness to sacrifice. The collection showcases the incredible diversity within the global Muslim community, featuring families from Pakistani, Algerian, Syrian, Mandinka, Malaysian, Palestinian, Australian, and African American backgrounds, amongst others. Through these varied cultural lenses, the anthology demonstrates how Eid traditions adapt across geographies whilst maintaining their core spiritual significance.
This anthology celebrates Eid through fifteen diverse stories by Muslim authors, each exploring different facets of this joyous Islamic holiday. Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan's month of fasting, whilst Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the willingness to sacrifice. The collection showcases the…
'Once Upon an Eid' arrives at a crucial moment in children's literature, contributing to the growing representation of Muslim characters and experiences in books for young readers. Published in 2020, the anthology responds to decades of Muslim communities feeling invisible, misrepresented, or…
The collection explores how young Muslims navigate multiple, sometimes competing cultural identities. Hawa embodies this tension most vividly, caught between her Black American upbringing in Philadelphia and her father's Mandinka heritage from Guinea. She wears lime-green sneakers and matching…
The anthology explores complex family dynamics across generations, cultures, and changing circumstances. Parents carry expectations shaped by their own upbringings, whilst children navigate the gap between what their families hope for them and who they are becoming. These tensions play out through…
Several stories confront genuine hardship, exploring how young people maintain hope when circumstances feel overwhelming. Bassem's refugee experience provides the collection's most devastating context, yet his story ultimately affirms the possibility of hope even after profound loss. The contrast…
The anthology presents Eid celebration not merely as cultural custom but as essential spiritual practice that connects individual faith to communal belonging. The two Eids (Eid-ul-Fitr marking Ramadan's end, Eid-ul-Adha commemorating willingness to sacrifice) serve different functions yet share core…
The anthology demonstrates how Muslim families worldwide maintain core Islamic practices whilst adapting Eid celebrations to reflect their particular cultural contexts. From Pakistani biryani to Syrian ka'ak cookies, from West African dashikis to Malaysian flavours, from Palestinian shay to Black…
Hawa is a twelve-year-old Black American Muslim girl navigating the complex terrain of dual cultural identity. Living in Philadelphia, she embodies the tension many children of immigrant parents experience, caught between her American upbringing and her father's Mandinka heritage from Guinea. Her…
Yusuf is an eleven-year-old boy whose relationship with family tradition defines his character and drives his story's central conflict. His fierce attachment to the annual Eid brownie tradition reveals both his strengths and his vulnerabilities. When his older sister Roshan decides to make a…
Bassem is a twelve-year-old Syrian refugee whose journey from war-torn Damascus to a Greek island encapsulates both devastating loss and resilient hope. His story begins with memories of his father, Babba, an ophthalmologist fascinated by the science of sight and colour. Babba's lesson about ancient…
Fanta is Hawa's cousin, a girl the same age who embodies everything Hawa feels she lacks in her Mandinka heritage. Living in the Bronx with her parents (Uncle Kaba and Aunt Mariama), her grandmother Mama Dusu, and her four younger brothers, Fanta navigates the crowded apartment with grace and…
Maya Madinah Mu'min is a young girl navigating the devastating aftermath of her parents' divorce in San Francisco. Living in a candy-coloured Victorian house that once held perfect family moments, she now experiences profound loneliness even surrounded by community. Her full name carries weight and…
The opening stories explore how young Muslims navigate complex family relationships whilst discovering their cultural identities. In 'Perfect', Hawa travels from Philadelphia to the Bronx to spend Eid with her father's Mandinka family from Guinea. She feels inadequate around her cousin Fanta, who…
Yusuf's story explores how an eleven-year-old's fierce attachment to family tradition leads to a painful lesson about responsibility and divided attention. The annual Eid brownies represent more than dessert in Yusuf's family; they embody continuity, family connection, and his own growing…
This section explores how young Muslims express their faith publicly whilst navigating complex personal identities. 'Don'ut Break Tradition' follows a family navigating Eid whilst maintaining creative connections to both traditional and contemporary customs. The story demonstrates how food…
'Gifts' follows Idrees through his second year of fasting for Ramadan, exploring how material expectations can obscure the month's deeper spiritual meaning. Idrees spends the first weeks obsessively searching for his Eid gifts, checking under beds, near the furnace, behind sofas, driven by curiosity…
'The Feast of Sacrifice' explores Humza's experience whilst his parents undertake the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, their once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. At twelve, Humza becomes primary caregiver for his younger siblings Ayla and Ismail whilst staying with his grandparents. The letter his mother…
'Searching for Blue' tells Bassem's story as a twelve-year-old Syrian refugee living in a converted tomato factory on a Greek island. His memories of pre-war Syria contrast devastatingly with present reality. He remembers his grandparents' home filled with family during Eid, stacks of presents,…
'Taste', 'Eid Pictures', and 'Not Only an Only' explore how young Muslims experience family celebration amidst changing circumstances and complex sibling relationships. These stories demonstrate how Eid traditions adapt to accommodate different family structures whilst maintaining their core purpose…
'Maya Madinah Chooses Joy' and 'Eid and Pink Bubble Gum, Insha'Allah' conclude the anthology by exploring how young Muslims maintain hope and joy despite significant life changes and everyday family chaos. Maya Madinah's story addresses the profound disruption of her parents' divorce. Her full name…
Hawa is a twelve-year-old Black American Muslim girl navigating the complex terrain of dual cultural identity. Living in Philadelphia, she embodies the tension many children of immigrant parents experience, caught between her American upbringing and her father's Mandinka heritage from Guinea. Her…
Yusuf is an eleven-year-old boy whose relationship with family tradition defines his character and drives his story's central conflict. His fierce attachment to the annual Eid brownie tradition reveals both his strengths and his vulnerabilities. When his older sister Roshan decides to make a…
Bassem is a twelve-year-old Syrian refugee whose journey from war-torn Damascus to a Greek island encapsulates both devastating loss and resilient hope. His story begins with memories of his father, Babba, an ophthalmologist fascinated by the science of sight and colour. Babba's lesson about ancient…
Fanta is Hawa's cousin, a girl the same age who embodies everything Hawa feels she lacks in her Mandinka heritage. Living in the Bronx with her parents (Uncle Kaba and Aunt Mariama), her grandmother Mama Dusu, and her four younger brothers, Fanta navigates the crowded apartment with grace and…
Maya Madinah Mu'min is a young girl navigating the devastating aftermath of her parents' divorce in San Francisco. Living in a candy-coloured Victorian house that once held perfect family moments, she now experiences profound loneliness even surrounded by community. Her full name carries weight and…
By S. K. Ali, Aisha Saeed
Subject
Themes
This anthology celebrates Eid through fifteen diverse stories by Muslim authors, each exploring different facets of this joyous Islamic holiday. Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan's month of fasting, whilst Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the willingness to sacrifice. The collection showcases the incredible diversity within the global Muslim community, featuring families from Pakistani, Algerian, Syrian, Mandinka, Malaysian, Palestinian, Australian, and African American backgrounds, amongst others. Through these varied cultural lenses, the anthology demonstrates how Eid traditions adapt across geographies whilst maintaining their core spiritual significance.