Counter Islamophobia through Stories

In January, 2017, we launched our “Counter Islamophobia Through Stories” campaign to change the stories and misinformation about Muslims, especially for young and impressionable minds. The campaign was rooted in research that indicates that exposure to other cultures should begin at an early age. Learning about our similarities, understanding our differences and sharing our stories goes a long way towards creating respect and acceptance of one another.

We curated book lists on four different themes to provide you – parents, teachers, librarians and others – with multiple opportunities to engage with these stories. We conducted author interviews and shared personal stories related to the theme. We also compiled a list of articles, reports and other resources on Islamophobia.

We presented our ideas at the American Library Association Annual 2017 Conference, and the Teachers 4 Social Justice conferences, we conducted numerous storytimes and events, collaborated with librarians and teachers all over the world to include more of these books in their curriculum.

Now we are excited to announce “Muslims in Story: Expanding Multicultural Understanding Through Children’s and Young Adult Literature” published by ALA Editions, as an extension of the ideas from the campaign. The book is a great starting point for teachers, librarians and educators of all stripes to bring about tangible change in their communities. With a short history of Muslims in America to the present issues they currently face, this book offers a look at a more hopeful future of creating empathy, respect and understanding towards Muslims.

The book includes a foreword by Marina Budhos, and interviews with Emma Apple, Fatima Sharafeddine, Hena Khan, Jeanette Winter, Michael Hamilton Morgan, Naheed Senzai, Randa Abdel-Fatteh, Reem Faruqi, Rukhsana Khan, Shahrukh Hussain, Sally Malaam, SA Chakraborty and Sumbul Ali-Karamali.

Look up more information and buy the book from the ALA store or on Amazon.

SPREAD THE WORD

Help get the word our by sharing our book with friends, teachers, librarians and parents using the hashtag #MuslimsinStory and #CounterIslamophobiathroughStories. Check out all the booklists below.

Join us to build a bridge of cultural understanding book by book, story by story.