Altmuslimah’s second photographic campaign video features Heba Amin’s illustrations from the new children’s book, Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World.
Altmuslimah’s second photographic campaign video features Heba Amin’s illustrations from Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World.
The book’s publisher, Sep Riahi, told Altmuslimah:
Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World was born from our realization that there exist few – if any – “Young Adult” books that chronicle the lives of fascinating Muslim women in history. We were equally surprised to find that while there are several children’s books published annually about Muslim or Middle Eastern “heroes”, very few non-fiction books have ever been published for and about young women. To us it seemed that traditional publishers repeatedly overlook the Muslim female market as a quick search of non-fiction picture books should reveal numerous titles based on the lives of outstanding women from almost all regions, races and religions from around the world, except for Muslim women.
Moreover, a highly informal study we conducted found that the majority of our female Muslim friends had trouble naming more than 3 female Muslim role models in history. During this very unscientific, however motivating, study participants were given 60 seconds to name the women. Khadjia, the prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) first wife was almost always mentioned, followed by Aisha. Thereafter most participants could name one person, often a political or literary figure from their own country of origin, but struggled to name more. Please note that we would be the first to say that this is not a scientific study, however, it did influence the genesis of this project for what it’s worth as it solidified our reasoning for publishing this book.
As a result of our research and study, we felt quite certain that there’s a generation of girls growing up without sufficient knowledge and understanding of the positive impact Muslim women have made and are making to their cultures, irrespective of their race, nationality, sect, age and profession.
The list of women in this book is in no way comprehensive or exhaustive – nor is the book meant to be an academic study of their lives or a guide to what makes a good Muslim, per se. However, it is hoped that readers will gain a better understanding of the positive impact many Muslim women have had throughout the ages – irrespective of their nationality, race and profession – and hopefully feel inspired to pursue their life goals with increased vigor and compassion.
About Altmuslimah’s Photographic Campaign:
The purpose of Altmuslimah’s visual campaign is to present Muslim men and women multi-dimensionally, figuratively speaking. The collection highlights the literary contributions of empowered Muslim American women; telling portraits of tenacious Muslim females, young and old; warm, loving Muslim men; the purity of spiritual devotion; and the dynamics of positive gender interaction in Islam.
Altmuslimah would also like to help spread the message by offering the embed link to other sites interested in featuring our photos. If you are a blogger or run a web magazine or other website, and are interested in supporting this mission to change the dominant image of Muslim men and women, please contact us at asma.uddin(at)altmuslimah.com.
Heba Amin was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. She received her B.A. in Studio Art with an emphasis in Oil Painting from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She then pursued a post-baccalaureate program in painting at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and is currently working on her MFA in Interactive Design at the University of Minnesota. This is her first book illustration project.
