Thanks be to Allah that through His guidance I was able to convey why Islamic Fiction labeling and the writing and publishing of these books is important in a way that you could understand.

I appreciate your response, brother Biju.

Salaams,
Widad

Thank you for the time for such a detailed response to my suggestion. (I’ve seen it just today, though..)

Having read and understood your viewpoint, I tend to agree more with you now: Muslim parents - most of all - would certainly like to be able to pick up fiction works based on Islamic themes more easily for their kids. Towards this end, classifying such works separately (as IF) will go a long way in helping lay readers - more than the specialists - meet their, and their family’s, Islamic reading requirements easily.

Muslims who write Islamic fiction wirite primarily for a Muslim market. The stories are about and for Muslims. Islam is woven into the book characters’ lives just as it is woven into the lives of every practicing Muslim The writer shows Islam.. he/she doesn’t telll Islam as you will find in many daw’ah books and non fiction books about Islam. Musi=lim students-youth-teens-young adults want to relate to book characters. they want to read storries that they can relate to.

Islamic schools and public schools offer non Muslim authored fiction books in required reading programs in schools. Often these books have content that is inconsistent with Islamic teachings.

Parents, teachers, home schooling parents are looking for fiction books where they can be assurred there will not be such content, nor will there be sexual content, vulgarity, or grandizing violence in the books they approve of and get for their students, selves, children.

So… Islamic fiction is a label for fiction books that lets Muslims know that the books have halal content.

There are fiction books written by Muslims that are actually shameful… with sex, violence, vulgarity….. one wonders if the author is truly a practicing Muslim!

There are fiction books written by Muslims that are “nice” stories but little emphasis is placed on showing the book characters and stories with Islam woven into the lives of the characters or the story. these are jice reading books.. maybe interesting and good stories.. but they do not intend for the reader to be “Islam” conscious when reading the story.

In the system (BISAC) which book publishers, retailers, libraries, wholesalers etc. use to locate books to buy for resale or offer to the public…. each book is given a category label.. maybe a couple such a s Adult or Juvenile Fiction and then a sub category such as historical, mystery, science fiction, etc.

Nich books.. those that are written for a specific target market are also given labels so the books can be located appropriately in book catalogs, databases and on shelves in bookstores and public libraries… the christian niche book industry has categories such as:
Fiction: Juvenile: Christina mystery or Christian Adventure, etc.

There are sub categories for Jewish fiction books also.

It is appropriate and needed that fiction written by uslims for and about Muslims primarily also have an appropriate sub category label: Islamic.

While there is a way in the secular book industry to help identify fiction written by Muslims which meets high standards and conforms to Islamic teachings…. there a is absolutely nothing in the Muslim book industry to identify quality Islamic fiction books. In fact, most publishers don’t publish fiction for youyth, teens and adults. and most retailers who do decide to sell the limited number of Islamic fiction books published, hesitate to even use the word fiction on their websites and in their advertising. It is as if they put their heads in the sand and pretend this genre of literatuer does not exist.. that Muslims can’t/don’t witre Islamic ficrion or any fiction for that matter!

It is my goal to get the category Islamic fiction with various sub categorie such as Islamic Adventure, Islamic science fiction, Islamic family, islamic mystery and so forth in the secular labling system and Allah willing the Muslim book industry will get their heads out of the sand and recognize this genre of literature. Finally I think that avoiding using the word Islamic in connection with our books is not a good thing to do. ..not for Muslims looking for this kind of fiction and not for the non Muslims. they ned to know just as our children need to know that we have creative, talented, and wonderful fiction writers who are Muslim and very proud to identify themselves and their work as being Islamic.. quality books that uslims do not have to worry about offensive content when purchasing any of our IF books.

Salaams,
Widad

When our primary objective is conveying the message of Islam, would it not be better to just categorize such works under the general Fiction classification? This would at least get the lay readers with a possible disinterest, indeed bias, towards Islam, to at least start out with the reading process…. and be compellingly informed of a different perspective on Islam even before they know it.

To every man is his own - if you (the commenter) do not appreciate ‘Islamic fiction’, that’s an opinion you are entitled to, but please do not bad-mouth such books as being ‘bad art’… they are simply ‘art that are not of your taste’.

Interesting and educational article, sis. Thanx for posting it.

Now…I do have a question, tho. I have no objection to your suggestions on the necessity of defining this genre of writing, nor on the mentioned qualifications of fitting into this categor.

What I do question, however, is ur last comment of needed support in order to legally get the mention and inclusion into the BISAC coding system. Exactly how is that done? I mean…do we need a larger group of support? Perhaps a signed affidavit of a certain number of supporters for this? Or what? I mean…what is required of us, your supporters and the community of Muslim writers of Islamic Fiction to gain more support?

As far as Islamic literature is concerned, there is truly very little of Islamic Fiction out there, even in the Arabic language. For some reason, people have overlooked the great possibility of it’s power and use. Most of the Islamic literature that is available is simple boring ‘preachy’ stuff…not fiction. And certainly not much artistic fiction.

balqees.

Thanks for visiting and leaving your comments. Always appreciated.

I don’t think the problem is self published books. I believe that Fictionwise has a 10 book minimum for acceptance.

Salaams,
Widad

Ya Haqq!