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The history of Islam has impacted the history of our world in more ways than you can imagine – here Na’ima B Robert suggests some of the best books with Muslim protagonists

I started writing books about Muslim children 15 years ago because I couldn’t find any books in our local library that featured Muslim children or celebrated Islamic culture. I wanted to share such books with my son. I wanted to see himself and his family reflected in the books we read. Since then, a lot has changed. From engaging picture books and board books, to fun middle grade adventures, to mature YA themes, Muslim characters have increasingly found their way onto our bookshelves and into our lives.

This is a good thing. It is a good thing because, while our world is growing smaller in some ways, it is splintering further apart in others. Now, more than ever before, we need to understand each other, to be able to empathise with each other, to walk in each other’s shoes. We need to open our eyes.

I don’t have to tell you that not all Muslims are terrorists; you already know that. I don’t have to tell you that not all Muslim girls are forced to wear a hijab: you already know that. I don’t have to tell you that not all Muslims are Pakistani or can speak Arabic or hate “the West”; you already know that. At least, I hope you do. If not, I invite you to open your eyes, to pick up a book with a Muslim protagonist and challenge yourself.

Where to start? Well, books with Muslim protagonists now cover a wide, wide spectrum so it depends on what you’re into.

There are picture books for primary age children explaining different aspects of the faith in a simple, engaging way: who was Muhammad? Where is Mecca? Why don’t Muslims eat in Ramadhan? What is the Hajj? If you have questions about the Islamic faith itself, these are a great place to start.

Then there are books for more confident readers that take you back in time, into Muslim history: books about the travels of the great explorer, Ibn Battuta, about Baghdad’s House of Wisdom and the scholarship that gave birth to the Renaissance and about the amazing legacy of the Moors in Spain. From desert nomads to cut-throat pirates, from powerful kings and queens to enslaved Africans to fighters in the First World War, the history of Muslims has impacted the history of our world in more ways than you can imagine.

Then there are those stories that share the contemporary lives of Muslims around the world: young people in Afghanistan, India, Palestine and beyond, many dealing with war, displacement and uncertain futures. Young people living behind the headlines whose stories have to be read to be believed.

And again, there are the stories of Muslim youth – kids like you – growing up in London, Sydney, New Jersey, Toronto, learning to straddle two or more cultures, dealing with coming of age, finding themselves and their place in the world.

In all these stories, there is a new world waiting for you.



At times, the language or turns of phrase may be a challenge: do not be put off. Use the glossary, if there is one, and keep exploring. You will find that, underneath the layers of unfamiliar language, culture, family dynamics and expectations, there is something you can relate to: a shared humanity, a heart, a soul, that speaks to yours.

Because, at the end of the day, the different layers of what we call our identity, are merely that: layers. We all laugh and we all cry. We are all afraid and we can all be incredibly brave. We all have the capacity to hate and the ability to love. And we are all trying to find our way through this magnificent maze called life and finally find ourselves and fulfil our purpose.

And that is why stories are so important: they help to bridge the divide that exists on the outside. They connect us in our humanity, cultivating empathy and gifting us with a new view of the world.

I invite you to open your eyes.

Some amazing books with Muslim characters:

Check out Kube Publishers and Greenbird Books for a variety of children’s and middle grade fiction with Muslim characters.

And you can check out my books, too!

Find out what else is happening during the Guardian children’s books diversity week here.