Danny Shakoj saw "Elf on the Shelf," then spotted "Mensch on a Bench," and wondered why there was no Islamic doll and story book. So he spent about $1,800 of his own money to produce "Adventures of Imam Adam."

"We are missing something for the Muslim community," said the N.J. born Circassian Muslim (from the Caucasus states near Russia) who lives in Haledon.

Sales are picking up, said Shakoj, a medical device consultant and project engineer.

"We never have toys for the Islamic faith," he said, "even though there are anywhere between four and seven million Muslims in the U.S."

Shakoj engaged an artist to create some prototypes for the imam doll. Since we live in a diverse area, he said, he selected a younger man with big, blue eyes and a brown beard wearing a taqiyah, or skullcap, and a thobe, a one-piece white tunic over blue jeans with red sneakers. He has a green backpack, which holds his green prayer shawl.

Muslims are partial to the color green because green is associated with paradise in the Quran.

Muslims pray five times a day, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, as the book explains.

The story starts with Imam Adam getting ready to visit the Ka'Bah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which every able-bodied Muslim tries to do once in a lifetime. Called the Hajj, or pilgrimage, it is another of the pillars.

A third pillar is to fast during the lunar month of Ramadan from dawn until sunset.

On the way to Mecca, Imam Adam practices charity, or sadaqah, the fourth pillar.

Finally, Muslims testify to the oneness of Allah, the Shahada, and the acceptance of Muhammad, the fifth pillar.

Since he was born in the United States and does not have any accent, Shakoj, 33, said he has not experienced discrimination. But he was keenly aware of the prejudice toward Muslims.

"Everyone needs to be treated equally," he said, noting that President Trump's travel ban has affected many families.

Muslims are mixing in the U.S. culture in many other ways.

There are now comics with Muslim superheroes, like Marvel's Kamala Khan, a New Jersey Muslima of Pakistani origin.

"Muslim Superheroes" chronicles the evolution of Muslim superheroes back to 1944 when Kismet debuted in "Bomber Comics No. 1" followed by Archer of Arabia, Black Tiger, and the Iraqi superhero team Desert Sword, among others.

This book of articles looks at how Western views of Muslims sometimes determines the way the character is written. For example, Kamala wears a burkini, a form of a Muslim woman's covering known as a burka. To some Westerners, it means she needs to be rescued from Muslim men. But author Kevin Wanner says "wearing hijab is a choice that girls and women can make for themselves."

One conscious trait of true Islamic cartoon characters is that Allah figures strongly in their motivations.

"From a Muslim worldview, justice without consciousness of the divine leads to relativism, while a commitment to the letter of the religious law that strips it of its intent is reductionism," Hussein Rashid wrote.

"Muslim Cool" draws on the experience of Black Muslims, who have been seen as radicals in the U.S.

"Muslim cool is a way of thinking and a way of being Muslim that resists and reconstitutes U.S. racial hierarchies," Su'Ad Abdul Khabeer, a Brooklyn native and assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University, writes.

She shows this through the lens of hip-hop music, culture and religion.

Shakoj hopes Islamic schools and businesses in major U.S. population centers, say, Michigan and Jersey City and Paterson, will see "Imam Adam" as a way to show advancement of Muslims in American culture and help non-Muslims see the beauty of Islam and perhaps place them under Christmas trees.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, 07030, FAX: 201-659-5833; Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.

Details ...

"Adventures of Imam Adam," doll and hardcover book by Danny Shakoj. Available on Amazon or www.adventuresofimamadam.com; $29.99.

"Muslim Cool: Race, Religion and Hip Hop in the United States," by Su'ad Abdul Khabeer; New York University Press; $30.

"Muslim Superheroes: Comics, Islam and Representation," edited by A. David Lewis and Martin Lund, Ilex Foundation; distributed by Harvard University Press; $24.95