Living in North America, even when you aren’t celebrating Christmas, it feels like you're celebrating Christmas.

Promptly on November 1st, the red, white and green festivities begin and their brilliant hues are inescapable. There are elves on shelves and an inflatable Frosty on roofs. And Santa! He really is always watching you as he’s plastered on every surface. He sees you when you’re sleeping because he’s on the half-eaten chocolate wrapper on your dresser. He knows when you’re awake because he’s also on your cereal box, milk carton, and morning coffee sleeve.

Around this time of year, there is a spike in cases of FOMO within first and second-generation immigrants whose holiday rosters do not include Christmas. For over fifty days, they are stuck between a rock and a jolly place because Christmas can be… tempting. The twinkling lights are alluring, the merry melodies are mesmerizing, the promise of gifts is promising, and so the fear of missing out can be all-consuming. It all starts on an ordinary November morning when suddenly, "the holiday spirit" infuses everything the light touches. Every mode and medium has a Yuletide tinge, and every sector of life has a little trimming. For two months, these FOMO-ridden individuals trapeze through jagged tinsel and paper-cut sharp wrapping paper, trying to maneuver in the aftermath of Big Hallmark’s joyous rampage.

In schools, children sing carols in winter pageants, some only mouthing the words to Silent Night or hesitantly rockin’ around a Christmas tree.

There's no argument that these activities can spark joy, and that's precisely the problem. Celebrating, the very act of it, is fun. Whether it’s Halloween, a wedding, an achievement, however minimal, or even a dog’s birthday, people find reasons to come together and celebrate. But in this case, Christmas is not theirs to celebrate. Some people have a little voice in their heads that nettles them each time they put on reindeer ears or take part in Secret Santa. Depending on the individual, it could be their conscience screaming, “What would my parents say?”

In the winter whirlwind of hope, excitement, and merriment, it’s almost impossible to not want to be a part of it all, even subconsciously. It’s difficult to deny that Christmas is fun.

Especially since celebrating non-Christian holidays in the West can be challenging.

There are no signature drinks or holiday hours. There are no lights and most definitely no statutory days off. Christmas is fun because of the sheer scale. The stakes are high with countdowns, giveaways, and so many parties.

Christmas isn’t just a day you celebrate, it’s a season. It’s a pallette and a theme. It’s a genre of music and film. It’s a category of dessert, dinner, and beverage.

That said, it’s difficult to compete with all the fanfare that happens each year in December. Parents are often compelled to go above and beyond to get their kids excited about their own celebrations. Usually with the help of old reliable Mr. Chuck E. Cheese and even older — and therefore more reliable — Mr. Wad of Cash. Worse yet, when one has to justify their need for a day off to a manager who is apparently fascinated by their religion, people can’t help but pray for patience, or better yet, a miracle.

A miracle in which there is no rock by the jolly place. What if a certain non-Christian American demographic could celebrate their holiday at the same time as everyone else? What if they could ride on the Christmas coattails of vacation days, holiday parties, and sales? What if a certain non-Christian religious holiday coincided with Christmas and millions more could wholeheartedly celebrate together with the masses? What if, for example, Eid al-Adha fell on December 24th?

Wouldn’t that be a miracle?

***

You've just read the introduction to my new book, Christmas Eid, available now on Kindle (E-Book) (Print coming soon).

It's Booksmart meets the holidays wrapped up in a warm, festive coming-of-age story.

Christmas Eid introduces a unique format. It's a novelplay. A book that reads like a movie!

Christmas Eid: A Novelplay (Available Now)

If you'd be interested in receiving a copy in return for a review, please message me! Also, please share this with anyone you think might be interested in reading!

K.W. Shahrazad

A Late Announcement: Scrittorio Magazine Ramadan 1445 Issue

I've put it out there on IG and I'm sharing it here as well:

For the month of Ramadan, which is just days away, I'm preparing a special Scrittorio Magazine issue.

The Ramadan 1445 issue will discuss a range of topics related to writing fiction as a Muslim author, but my hope is that I can present the real experiences, insights, and advice of Muslim fiction writers in this issue.

If you are a Muslim writer of fiction, please check out the blog post linked above! If you have any Qs, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Deadline: Ideally, March 10th - 15th. Hoping to publish the issue sometime between the 15th-20th of March, inshaAllah.

For us Muslim writers, our Sadaqah Al Jaariya is our words. They are the seeds we try to sow in the hearts of our readers, seeds that may sprout and bloom long after we are gone.

We try our best to make our words a source of knowledge and guidance, a beacon of hope in the darkness, a balm for the wounded soul.

May Allāh reward all the writers who are using their words as a source of spreading Islamic knowledge and comforting the lives of the readers. May their words be a source of blessing for them in this world and the hereafter.

امين

Henlo :3

I'm currently reading the Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher, and it was bugging me that I didn't know why Amir was flinching when Edna touched him, so (based on Akida's hijab and Amir's prayer rug) I looked into customs of Islam and learned some stuff and I just want to say thanks for having so many different kinds of lives in this book (: I always appreciate learning real world stuff in fun ways.

thank you so much for reading! I had a lot of help with Amir's character from Muslim friends who kindly answered my questions and/or read early drafts and gave me feedback. I'd like to take this opportunity to recommend a couple Muslim authors and their books*!

Adiba Jaigirdar is an auto-buy author for me! three of her books are queer YA romance - The Henna Wars, Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating, and The Dos and Donuts of Love (the last one is coming out in June) - but she also has A Million to One, which is a heist story set on the Titanic. that one just released in December, so I haven't read it yet, but I'm SO EXCITED for it. check out Adiba's books on her website.

Priyanka Taslim is a fellow 2023 debut whose book I looked forward to for ages, and it did not disappoint! The Love Match is pitched as a Bangladeshi-American YA romance that will appeal to fans of Jane Austen (and also it will appeal to tea-lovers everywhere). it has fake dating, complicated family dynamics, and a love triangle that really kept me guessing. Priyanka also has an adult novel, From Mumbai With Love, anticipated to release early in 2024, so add it on GoodReads now. check out Priyanka's website here.

Kataru Yahya is another fellow debut whose book is alas not out yet, but I can't wait to read it! Home Is a Silhouette is a loose, contemporary retelling of Beauty & the Beast that is set in Ghana. If you haven't seen the cover yet, be sure to take a look, because it's ridiculously gorgeous. add the book on GoodReads now, and check out Kataru's Linktree here. (she is also a poet, and some of her poetry is linked on Linktree if you're interested!)

Aamna Qureshi is the definition of "it's about the range": if you're looking for an author who can do contemporary, fantasy, long-form, short-form - look no further. The Lady or the Lion and The Man or the Monster (a YA fantasy duology retelling of the story "The Lady or the Tiger") are out now. keep an eye out for When a Brown Girl Flees (2023), If I Loved You Less (2024), and My Big, Fat, Desi Wedding (edited by Prerna Pickett, 2024) if you prefer contemporary! see more details on Aamna's website.

Khadijah VanBrakle is another fellow debut, and her book comes out next month! Fatima Tate Takes the Cake is recommended for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Ibi Zoboi (um, YES) and is yet another debut with an absolutely gorgeous cover that I'm obsessed with. if you like coming-of-age stories that are gritty yet hopeful, be sure to give this one a look. see more details on Khadijah's website!

*I write adult contemporary fantasy, and you'll notice this list is like. mostly YA contemporary/YA romance with a sprinkling of YA fantasy. that is because, as much as I love adult fantasy and writing in the adult fantasy space, most of what I read in general tends to be YA, and most of what I've read since the pandemic started leans romance (because low stakes and a guaranteed HEA are exactly what I have needed since the pandemic started).

[ID: a screenshot of Hafsa Faisal’s Instagram story which has a latte and four pieces of text. The first one says “three days post-deadline on the Secret Project and I’ve finally figured out the book”. The second one says “ there’s nothing quite a satisfying as when all the disparate pieces finally click together, and unveil the twist, but I really wish it hadn’t taken me this long to figure out”. The other two pieces of text refer to the latte, saying “also yes this latte is utter perfection thanks to cayskii” with cayskii referring to her husband, and “a second thank you to him for listening to my nonsensical rambling and helping me figure out the plot”. End ID]

OMG WHAT SECRET PROJECT GUYSSSSSSS

Eid 2022: Muslim Books Wrap-up and Review Part i

we've almost made it through ramadan, so with eid coming up, i figure i'd list out some of the recently published books (2017 to present) with muslim main characters i've read over the year with spoiler-free reviews. young adult and lgbtq muslim fiction reviewed in part ii!

these books represent a wide spectrum of the muslim experience. from practicing, non-practicing, or questioning one's faith to spanning cultures, nationalities, and ethnic origins from across the globe. and we're only scratching the surface. some thoughts:

contemporary fiction/poetry:

bless the daughter raised by a voice in her head (2022/warsan shire) - this poetry collection by ms. shire (somali-british) was so moving and gripping. poems about womanhood, trauma, racism, migration. all told through the backdrop of this somali muslim family. *chef's kiss*

home fire (2017/kamila shamsie) - winner of the women's prize and a longlist for the man booker prize. yes, i know it touches upon themes of terrorism but stay with me here. reimagined greek classics are all the rage nowadays, so here we have a re-telling of antigone but from the perspective of a group of young south asian/pakistani muslims in the uk.

exit west (2017/mohsin hamed) - a shortlister for the man booker prize. such a unique take on migration and refugees with elements of magical realism. this speculative fiction novella follows a couple from an unnamed city escaping war and moving from country to country. a quick read with beautiful imagery/writing.

a burning (2020/megha majumdar) - an indian muslim teenager makes an offhand comment on facebook and gets swept up in a govt investigation following the aftermath of a terrorist attack. this one stays with you. super relevant given modi/bjp’s india.

a woman is no man (2019/etaf rum *tw domestic violence) - oh the woes of generational trauma and how hard it can be to break free. this novel is told from the pov of three generations of palestinian women from the same family, diving into themes of a woman's place in society, abuse, trauma, and shame. enjoyed it, but i do wish we got a little more perspective from fareeda (the grandmother).

the beauty of your face (2020/sahar mustafah *tw: school shooting, gun violence) - this novel takes place during a shooting at an islamic girls school in the chicago area. but it's interspersed with the story of the principal, a palestinian american woman and her family growing up as immigrants in the us. i actually found her life story to be a lot more compelling than the actual school shooting chapters, which felt reductive.

the stationary shop (2019/marjan kamali) - just a lovely little story about a persian woman and her lost love, spanning the course of 60 years in both iran and the us. partly told through prose and partly told through letters, this bittersweet tale stuck with me til the very end.

fantasy/dystopian:

the city of brass (2017/sa chakraborty) - book 1 of the daevabad trilogy. super enjoyable read, fantastic world building with various elements from cultures across the muslim world. and of one the main leads is an unabashed, practicing muslim too? sign me up!

the bird king (2019/g. willow wilson) - gww of ms. marvel fame sets up this beautifully vivid world of moorish spain during the inquisition and combines it with mythological creatures from the region (think jinns and more!) the novel does drag in the middle but otherwise it's an immersive experience.

i hope you get this message (2019/farah naz rishi) - the world is about to end (think aliens!) and these three teens need to get their respective acts together before that happens. i ended up really invested in certain characters (adeem - pakistani muslim boy and his friendship with cate) and them navigating complex family dynamics. not exactly dystopian but more of a contemporary novel feel. wish there was a stronger ending but enjoyed the journey.

we hunt the flame (2019/hafsah faizal) - so we're not treading new ground in terms of fantasy tropes and story here, but the setting and characters are worth the read for exploring the mythology and lore of the arab world. the story follows a young huntress disguised as a man and the forces/friends/loves she meets on the way. a solid first effort.

graphic novels:

huda f are you (2021/huda fahmy) - such a cute coming of age, graphic novel about a egyptian american girl trying to fit in high school in dearborn, michigan. very clever and wholesome. (it's from the same creator as the "yes, i'm hot in this" webcomic. she also has a short graphic novel on marriage called "that can be arranged.")

I wanna follow more modern Arab and Muslim authors but I don't know how to find them or where to start.

HIJAB BUTCH BLUES by LAMYA H.

Alright, changing it up a bit with my book stuff but this one hit home with me. The author draws very interesting parallels between stories in the Quran and her experiences as a gay muslim woman that are very interesting. And if you think you can’t be muslim and gay, or wear a hijab and be gay, or even tackle muslim culture and queerness in one, then you’re bound to be pleasantly proved wrong with this one.

It's Booksmart meets the holidays wrapped up in a warm, festive coming-of-age story.

This year, Eid al-Adha and Christmas miraculously coincide. The holidays have never been more festive and for seventeen-year-old best friends Ramla and Anna-Maria, the season brings upon a unique type of miracle. The girls are one step closer to meeting Lady Wilde, a revered social media lifestyle guru. Lady Wilde’s followers are inspired by her grace and lyrical wisdom, but her recent advice planted doubt in Anna-Maria’s dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Anna-Maria can’t let it go. She’s been following Lady Wilde since she was twelve, clinging to every word, screenshotting every post, and listening to every piece of advice. Loving this person who shares their wisdom but hides their true identity. But Lady Wilde has slipped up! She’s posted a scenic photo, a clue to her location. Determined to confront her, the girls seize this chance. Anna-Maria and Ramla set off on a Wilde Christmas Eid adventure. In a whirlwind of holiday festivities, they follow a string of clues. But each step closer to Lady Wilde chips away at the girls’ friendship. As Ramla struggles to keep up with Anna-Maria’s relentless pursuit, she wonders if it’s her best-friend she’s actually chasing. Will Anna-Maria find what she’s looking for? And if so, at what cost?

Christmas Eid introduces a unique format. It's a novelplay. A book that reads like a movie!

Christmas Eid: A Novelplay (Available Now)

If you'd be interested in receiving a copy in return for a review, please message me! Also, please share this with anyone you think might be interested in reading!

K.W. Shahrazad

Seeing characters in romance stories just jetting between countries at a moment's notice with no thought for visa; seeing airports as sites of triumphant climaxes and romantic denouements instead of places of fear and danger where a sword hangs above your head— it all breaks off little pieces of my heart. They're constant reminders that my people will never be human enough in the colonial world order to be allowed to move freely around it. No matter what your race, those non-refugees living in the Global North will never understand what it's like to be part of a global ghetto where your passport is nothing but a trembling supplication and humiliation.

Banda Khafa ho jaye Khair hai par Rahman Khafa nahi hona chahiye

-Aishay Gul (Jannat Kay Pattay)

-Ar-Rahman is one of the 99 names of Allah which means The most merciful,The entirely merciful,The most Gracious. Allah’s mercy has no limits and he is graciously bountiful to all his servants in every way especially when its about about his mercy and forgiveness. He loves when we ask for forgiveness from him for our sins.

This quote doesn’t mean that you should make just anyone sad. It simply means that you should not do something haram (unlawful/forbidden) by Allah in order to please the humans of this land created by Allah himself. So its best to displease and sadden the heart of the one who is telling you to commit a wrong action instead of disobeying your creator- Allah (swt).

Y’all don’t appreciate Hanna Alkhaf enough

If you don’t know, Hanna Alkhaf is the author of The Weight of Our Sky, Queen of the Tiles, and more.

She is Muslim, Malaysian, and an outstanding author. I’ve only read The Weight of Our Sky and it was sensational.

The Weight of our Sky is historical fiction and takes place in 1969, during Malaysia’s race riots. The main character has OCD and her intrusive thoughts are all about her mother, who goes missing during the riots. While I cannot comment on the OCD or Malay rep, let me just say the Muslim rep was amazing. I don’t know how to hide spoilers on tumblr so I won’t write about it here, but I personally view Hanna Alkhafs work as revolutionary.

After all, she was the first author I’ve ever seen make the triggers very clear. The trigger warnings she included were not some tiny little fine print that would be very easy to accidentally skip. No, it was clear right from the get-go that The Weight of Our Sky is a triggering novel that not everyone can/should read.

Not only that, there were some minor controversies with her middle grade novel, The Girl and The Ghost. In the arcs she accidentally used wording similar to that abusers usually use. Author Aisha Saeed pointed it out and instead of defending herself or getting upset, Hanna Alkhaf fixed the issue and apologized. WHEN SHE DID SOMETHING WRONG SHE FIXED THE ISSUE AND APOLOGIZED!

She deserves all of the love. Obsessed with her.

Eid 2022: Muslim Books Wrap-up and Review Part ii

so in part i here, i focused on recently published contemporary literature/poetry, fantasy, and graphic novels (2017 to present) with muslim main characters i've read over the year. now i'm going to turn to young adult and lgbtq muslim fiction. frankly i was impressed by how many books have come out in the last few years alone in these categories. now i wish the quality of the writing was just as amazing (but that’s another story 🌙)

these books represent a wide spectrum of the muslim experience. from practicing, non-practicing, or questioning one's faith, to spanning cultures, nationalities, and ethnic origins from across the globe. and we're only scratching the surface. without further ado:

ya:

all my rage (2022/sabaa tahir *tw: abuse, addiction) - this book fully wrecked me. it's so heartbreaking and yet hopeful at the same time. a lovely friends to lovers story of two pakistani american kids living in the mojave desert in california, whose respective families are just trying to live out "the american dream." p.s. tahir's "an ember in the ashes" is an awesome fantasy series!

salaam with love (2022/sara sharaf beg*tw: gun violence) - good post ramadan read as it follows a pakistani american teen from a small town who visits relatives in nyc for the entire month of ramadan. it's a coming of age story but also about the main learning more about the religion and ramadan in general. there's an unnecessary subplot involving gun violence that took away from the tone mid-story, and the ending was slightly unbelievable, but otherwise a fun read.

misfits in love (2021/s.k. ali) - this is a sequel to saints and misfits but you don't really need to have read the first one to read this. we follow our egyptian-indian hijabi protagonist at her brother's wedding and like all weddings, there's lots of drama (especially boy drama!) this was light-hearted and fun, but also did a good job in addressing intra-muslim racism (especially anti-black racism) and how to cope when it occurs amongst family members.

all american muslim girl (2019/nadine jolie courtney) - despite the cheesy title, i thought this was a fresh take on the muslim teen experience. it's a coming of age story of a white passing Circassian girl from a non-religious muslim family near atlanta, georgia. in exploring her heritage, racism, and fitting in, she comes to islam and decides to be muslim. so it's all about her finding her faith and making sense of it all, with some really layered intra-faith explorations amongst her friend group too.

love, hate, and other filters (2018/samira ahmed*tw: terrorism) - okay, this book was a mess. ostensibly a coming of age story about an indian muslim girl living in the midwest us. but it was full of cliches (brown girl pining for the white crush; oppressive indian parents, etc.) structurally, the author drops a mass casualty/terrorism event in the middle of the book, but then picks up with the "romance" like nothing happened. very little grappling with the main's cultural and religious identity. and the ending is incomprehensible given the 200 pages that came before it.

a very large expanse of sea (2018/tahereh mafi) - a coming of age story set in 2002 (right after 9/11) of a hijabi persian breakdancing teen. i enjoyed the subversion of stereotypes and the realistic depiction of racism and double standards in that time. i could have done with a little less romance but overall the main's conflicting emotions felt very real.

lgbtq lit (mostly wlw):

note: there aren't too many books with practicing queer muslim rep yet. most have mains that fall into the category of culturally muslim/raised in a muslim household but marginally practicing or not at all. for practicing rep, in addition to one book below, i would highly recommend watching "we are lady parts" on peacock (wlw hijabi who regularly prays!)

the henna wars (2020/adiba jaigirdar) - wlw high school rivals romance between a bengali girl and brazilian irish classmate in ireland (not exactly enemies to lovers but eh, close enough). so this isn't the most well-written book, but it was cute. props to an interracial woc couple and complicated sibling dynamics.

hani and ishu's guide to fake dating (2021/adiba jaigirdar) - fake dating and grumpy/sunshine tropes galore between muslim and hindu (?) bengali high school girls in ireland. kudos for a practicing muslim bisexual co-main! a nice exploration of culture and religion overall with both girls, who are quite well-developed on their own. i just wish we got more of their relationship together which felt the most underdeveloped of the whole novel so i wasn’t as invested in their relationship as i was in them separately. but overall, cute.

the love and lies of rukhsana ali (2019/sabina khan *tw: intense homophobia; sexual assault; death) - okay, i really disliked this book. setting aside the writing style which i did not care for, this book verged on trauma porn for me by taking the kitchen sink of homophobia, misogyny, racism, etc. and throwing it all at this poor bengali girl. yes, life is not all sunshine and roses but this was bleak. and don't get me started on the ending! the book would have benefitted from sticking with 2-3 topics and exploring them well.

zara hossain is here (2021/sabina khan *tw:islamophobia) - so i liked this better than her first book (love lies of rukhsana ali). but this author still has the propensity of putting her queer characters through harrowing situations so be warned. this novel is about a bisexual pakistani teenager in texas and the racism and islamophobia she and her family face. again i think focusing on a few major themes would have helped focus the storyline.

you exist too much (2020/zaina arafat *tw: addiction) this was a hard book, not only for the subject matter but because the main, a bisexual palestinian woman, is pretty unlikeable. but the writing is honest and there's something to be said for rooting for a woman to overcome her addictions, tackle her mental health issues, and stop her self-destructive behavior. i also enjoyed the vignettes of self-discovery from her childhood in palestine/jordan.

honorable mention: darius the great is not okay (2018/adib khorram) - this is cheating because the main isn't muslim; he's a persian, zoroastrian boy. but this book is so good and really deftly tackles the subject of mental illness, loneliness, family pressures and trying to fit in. it mostly takes place in iran with some gorgeous descriptions of the architecture/mosques in yazd too.

mayber im just projecting da norms of my own culture w this 1 but ngl a leftist showing 2 much love for their country is always gonna b a sign they live abroad 2 me, look at tgis bro in this paragraph it rlly showed taht the author has lived in los angeles his whole life & is writing for an american audience,

replace islam w orthodox christianity & tgis is all technically true abt me but i wld still never say some shit like tgis, esp not when im describing my personal poltical views lmao. then again i am transgender, right, but yk when a cishet (i assume) author writes abt a rlly conservative country/in tgis case region, & starts stating their own political views, idont think jts 2 unreasonable 2 expect tgem 2 clarify taht they support increased personal freedom/lgbt/etc b4 they can start raving abt how much they love da majority religion in taht place,

Muhammadsobir Fayzov, one of 4 Islamic Jihadis who murdered 137 at a concert in Moscow, wheeled into court (unconscious) after spending 2 days being interrogated by Russian authorities.

Meanwhile in the US, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev (Boston marathon bomber) enjoys the comforts of air conditioning, cable TV, a recreational yard and fan mail...

Maybe Russia's on to something.