Naima B. Robert – Muslim Women Children’s Book Reading Muslimah Author Summit 2022

Naima B. Robert
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The Musimaela Summit 2022 series is designed to encourage writing and sharing of words with others. The event is a way for people to learn about writing and share their own books. Al Wahhab's dedication to his mother and his sister's book led to a book about diversity and a woman who wants to be proud of her mother and her family. The community is part of a Muslim reading and writing community, as well as a parent's guide for teaching children about writing. The community is also part of a Muslim reading and writing community.

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			Okay. It's going up live.
		
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			Welcome everyone to this wonderful session,
		
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			in the Musima Writers Summit
		
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			2022.
		
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			So excited to have a wonderful group of
		
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			sisters coming,
		
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			to read to you from their children's books,
		
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			and we haven't done something like that before.
		
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			So super, super excited to hear these wonderful
		
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			stories, to be able to see these gorgeous
		
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			books, I'm sure that these are there are
		
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			going to
		
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			be some surprises in here. Books that you
		
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			haven't seen, books you're not familiar with, which
		
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			is fantastic, right? Because getting to know about
		
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			new books
		
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			and new authors is definitely one of my
		
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			favorite things to do. So
		
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			what I've got is I've got a beautiful
		
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			group of sisters who are all children's book
		
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			authors
		
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			and they are all going to us from
		
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			their books so it's like a story time.
		
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			Right?
		
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			And we're gonna get to meet each one
		
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			of them, find out more about why they
		
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			wrote the story, what the book is about,
		
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			and then they're going to read for us.
		
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			So those of you who are online now,
		
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			feel free to take a screenshot. Let everybody
		
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			know where you are. We can also take
		
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			a little screenshot. I wanna take a screenshot.
		
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			Yeah. Look. Come on, ladies. Let's do this.
		
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			And, yeah. We're just gonna have fun with
		
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			it. And this is something that I was
		
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			saying yesterday
		
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			in in of several presentations
		
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			which is that, you know writing is fun.
		
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			You know writing is fun. It's it's an
		
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			honor and a privilege you know to get
		
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			to write to get to share our words
		
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			with others. And sometimes we make it so
		
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			serious we make it so hard and heavy
		
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			and there's no need masha'Allah. So one of
		
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			the themes that I set for myself for
		
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			this summer is that we're just gonna relax
		
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			and we're gonna have fun and we're going
		
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			to enjoy each other and we're going to
		
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			enjoy each other's words inshallah. Okay? So with
		
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			that being said, I will take a little
		
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			screenshot. Yay.
		
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			Alright. I'll tag you guys inshallah. Make sure
		
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			that you guys tag us. Tag me on
		
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			instagram so I can share it. And you
		
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			can see that our lovely authors have put
		
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			their Instagram handles
		
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			in their in their, in their, their bios
		
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			right now so that you can follow them
		
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			insha'Allah on Instagram. Make sure that you do,
		
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			follow them, follow their work. Of course, it
		
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			goes without saying buy their books
		
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			and bi'idnila
		
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			you can enjoy some reading from them now
		
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			inshallah. So what we'll do is we will
		
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			come off the gallery
		
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			and we will start with my dear sister,
		
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			Rizaida,
		
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			at Noor Nursery Books. So introduce yourself. Tell
		
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			us who you are,
		
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			what book is it you're gonna share with
		
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			us, and why you wrote this book, and
		
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			then take it away. Bismillah.
		
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			Assalamu alaikum.
		
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			I know you said to relax, but I
		
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			mean, right now, I think my heart's fluttering.
		
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			But
		
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			So, I'm Rose De Baro,
		
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			author and founder of Non Nursery Books, which
		
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			is an indie publishing house based in London,
		
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			United Kingdom.
		
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			And I started off when,
		
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			my daughter was born 7 years ago, and
		
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			I wrote my first book, I Love My
		
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			Barber.
		
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			And my journey just sort of started from
		
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			there.
		
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			I couldn't find a illustrator so it took
		
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			me a few years to actually find someone
		
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			to illustrate the book. But I got there
		
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			eventually.
		
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			And I self published in,
		
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			2019
		
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			for Amazon.
		
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			And just quickly, just so I can show
		
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			you guys where I started and where I
		
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			am.
		
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			So this is,
		
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			if I can get it out. Should've got
		
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			it out before.
		
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			So this is
		
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			I Love My Barber that I self published
		
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			in 2019.
		
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			And I'm not ashamed of it. It doesn't
		
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			look great, and I'm aware.
		
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			But this is where I am now with
		
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			it.
		
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			So
		
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			super pleased.
		
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			And the story I'm gonna read today is
		
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			called Dare All Locks,
		
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			which is a lift the flap book.
		
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			It won the Daybreak press awards 2021.
		
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			So I'm super pleased, super proud of this
		
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			little babe here. And I've just got it
		
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			published in the second edition
		
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			in, as a board book. We actually sold
		
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			out over a 1,000 copies in less than
		
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			a year, so super proud of this.
		
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			And I wrote Deir Allah because growing up,
		
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			my parents always encouraged us to make dua.
		
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			We speak bashdaw at home, which is my
		
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			mother tongue, And whenever it came to a
		
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			gathering of any sort, it was my my
		
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			parents would always say the phrase,
		
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			which translate to raise your hands
		
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			raise your hands in dua.
		
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			And we spent
		
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			I spent my whole childhood like that. I've
		
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			been raised like that. That's all I've heard.
		
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			And what I what I wanted to do
		
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			with this book was to teach children to
		
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			turn to Allah by default. If you want
		
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			something, you ask Allah alone,
		
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			and he is who we turn to and
		
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			nobody else, and he's the only one
		
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			who can come to our rescue.
		
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			So
		
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			I'm gonna actually read it from here. And
		
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			I've got a hadith in this book, which
		
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			is what the first page, and it means
		
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			a lot to me because I just feel
		
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			like it's such a powerful hadith.
		
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			And it says,
		
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			narrated Mu'ad bin Jabal
		
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			Allah's messenger
		
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			told me, oh Mu'ad, I will give you
		
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			some advice. Never leave the recitation of this
		
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			supplication after every prayer.
		
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			Oh, Allah, help me to remember you, thank
		
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			you, and worship you perfectly.
		
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			And this is the hadith, which obviously is
		
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			not for children. This is for the reader.
		
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			This is for the parent, the carer, this
		
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			older sister, the older brother, whoever's reading,
		
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			whoever's reading to the child,
		
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			this is for them really, a reminder to
		
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			the parents
		
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			to only remember Allah.
		
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			So we'll start off
		
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			we'll
		
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			start off with the book.
		
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			I made du'a to Allah to send me
		
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			his blessings.
		
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			He blessed me with
		
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			the bright yellow sun. It makes me all
		
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			warm and fuzzy inside,
		
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			so I thanked Allah in return.
		
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			Then Allah blessed me with
		
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			the dazzling blue ocean.
		
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			I love playing in the water with Baba,
		
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			so I thanked Allah in return.
		
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			Then Allah blessed me with
		
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			lush green trees.
		
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			I love playing in the park with my
		
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			friends, so I thanked Allah in return.
		
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			Then Allah blessed me with
		
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			white fluffy clouds.
		
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			I love imagining shapes in the sky, so
		
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			I thanked a lot in return.
		
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			Then Allah blessed me with
		
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			pretty pink flowers.
		
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			I love picking them for my mama, so
		
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			I thanked Allah in return.
		
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			So then I made the word to Allah
		
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			for something very special,
		
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			and he blessed me with
		
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			a beautiful rainbow.
		
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			Allah is Al Wahhab, the giver of gifts,
		
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			and I love the colors he's blessed me
		
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			with.
		
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			And then at the end of the book,
		
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			there's this dedication, which is also really special
		
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			to me. When I published this book last
		
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			year,
		
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			20 no. The year before, actually, now, 2020,
		
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			It was when I lost my mother, Rahimullah.
		
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			So, in the end, it's just a dedication
		
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			to my mom who's always taught me to
		
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			look on the brighter side, to always thank
		
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			Allah, to always remember Allah, and to always
		
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			have a positive mentality.
		
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			Wonderful. And we will put the links to
		
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			all the authors
		
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			and their books in the description inshallah once
		
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			the video has finished, guys. So not to
		
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			worry. If you see any books that you
		
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			like, which I'm sure you will, and you
		
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			want to get yourself your copy, the links
		
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			will be in the description inshallah. Okay? So
		
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			let's move on inshallah with sister Farah a
		
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			second. Bismillah Fadar Isis. Go ahead.
		
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			Assalamu alaikum.
		
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			JazakAllah for having me.
		
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			Like, like the system before me, I'm a
		
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			little bit nervous, but alhamdulillah I'll get through.
		
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			I'm a teacher support worker and I started
		
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			my book in 20
		
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			19 and I got it published,
		
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			last year in 2021,
		
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			through a
		
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			independent self publisher. So this is a self
		
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			published book.
		
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			Obviously I started this book with my daughters
		
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			in mind.
		
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			It's a book about diversity. So it's a
		
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			book for all, so for Muslims and non
		
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			Muslim, but the main character obviously is a
		
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			Muslim. Who's just navigating her way,
		
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			trying to find herself
		
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			and her parents teach her that it's good
		
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			to be, and you should be a proud
		
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			Muslim. So,
		
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			you know, don't shy away from showing your
		
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			faith, whether it's time to pray or it's
		
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			fasting and so on.
		
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			And so Duha, the main character does, alhamdulillah,
		
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			at the end, come
		
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			to do that.
		
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			I'll just read a little short segment from
		
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			it. This is the part where they've come
		
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			to pray.
		
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			Stop.
		
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			Come to prayer, come to success, dad calls
		
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			out as the whole family comes together in
		
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			the back garden to pray.
		
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			Dad gets my grandmother a chair to sit
		
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			on while the rest of us run inside
		
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			to grab some prayer clothes or make.
		
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			We all then spread out our different colored
		
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			prayer mats onto the grass.
		
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			Dad stands
		
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			at the front to lead and we form
		
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			unified rows behind him, shoulder to shoulder, squished
		
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			up close to one another.
		
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			As we're about to begin, I hear my
		
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			cousins rushing to make it in time for
		
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			prayer.
		
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			Macy quickly stands next to me pulling her
		
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			prayer clothes over her head, accidentally elbowing me
		
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			in my face. While Ali, Daha and Jalil
		
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			come running out after making.
		
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			Ali trips before standing in line and a
		
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			and a little giggle, I giggle a
		
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			little. I'm not the only one who finds
		
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			it funny. So does my cousin Musa, who
		
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			was my age. He lets out a loud
		
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			laugh. My uncle nudges him to be quiet.
		
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			Once everyone is silent, we raise our hands
		
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			putting the words of the world behind us
		
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			for now as mom always says, and we
		
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			begin our prayer.
		
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			It's just a small segment with the long
		
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			chapter.
		
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			That's the illustration.
		
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			Yeah. So I just I've got book 2
		
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			coming out as well, which is a continuation
		
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			for this book and it's about the month
		
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			of Ramadan. So I just wanted to make
		
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			all this stuff very,
		
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			normal for non Muslims mainly, but for also
		
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			for Muslims to also be proud of who
		
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			they are, to not to shy away from
		
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			their faith or feel uncomfortable.
		
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			So, yeah, that was just a little bit
		
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			about myself and my book and my little
		
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			journey.
		
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			We
		
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			love it. JazakAllah Khayram.
		
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			What age group would you say that the
		
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			book is written for? 7 to 10.
		
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			Masha'Allah.
		
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			Middle grade. Wonderful. We need so many middle
		
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			grade books. We have hardly any.
		
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			So well done you, my brook, I like
		
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			you for taking the initiative and writing for
		
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			that age group. A lot of authors shy
		
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			away from that age group,
		
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			because it is a bit more taxing than
		
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			writing picture books, Masha'Allah. So may Allah bless
		
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			you and allow that book to go far
		
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			and wide throughout all the communities.
		
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			Thank you so much for sharing that.
		
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			Wonderful.
		
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			Give it a whoop whoop in the chat,
		
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			guys.
		
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			The people on YouTube are really, really enjoying
		
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			these, by the way.
		
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			I love. I'm looking at the chat. Alright.
		
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			Let's keep it moving. Author Wendy
		
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			Diaz.
		
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			Please take it away, sis.
		
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			Such a pleasure to be here.
		
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			So I've been writing for a while. One
		
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			of the reasons I got into it was
		
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			because,
		
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			I'm Puerto Rican and,
		
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			and my husband and I were both Latinos.
		
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			Our first language is Spanish.
		
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			So we started when we were raising our
		
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			children, we started wanting to introduce Islam to
		
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			them in their native language,
		
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			in our native language.
		
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			And there weren't many books available in Spanish.
		
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			So I started off writing bilingual children's books.
		
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			And, now I'm kind of more going into
		
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			the realm of rep,
		
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			increasing representation
		
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			in bilingual literature, but also just
		
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			literature in English. So the book I wanted
		
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			to share with you today
		
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			is, based on my daughter's experience
		
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			in public school here in the US, in
		
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			the US, by the way,
		
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			wearing hijab.
		
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			And she's she started off
		
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			in Islamic school. And in Islamic school, the
		
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			uniform,
		
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			that she was using also required her to
		
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			wear hijab.
		
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			So then when she
		
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			transferred into a public school, she was, only
		
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			in 2nd grade at the time, but she
		
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			still wanted to continue wearing hijab.
		
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			So she told me, mom, when I go
		
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			to school, the kids and the teachers are
		
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			asking me about the hijab. They asked me,
		
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			why do I wear it?
		
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			Do I have hair under there?
		
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			What does my hair look like? And all
		
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			of these things. So she was telling me
		
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			about all these questions that she was getting,
		
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			and it kind of inspired me to write
		
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			this little poem for her for her to
		
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			kind of when people are asking her questions,
		
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			not to feel shy and to give her
		
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			confidence about why she wears hijab. So it's
		
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			called the secret of my hijab.
		
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			And,
		
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			my son who's
		
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			he was 12 at the time when we
		
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			post a book. He did the illustrations, so
		
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			I feel like the the illustrations are very
		
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			special. This book is kinda like a whole
		
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			family
		
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			affair here.
		
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			So just to read you a little bit.
		
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			If you see me with hijab at school,
		
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			you might think it's something strange.
		
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			But if you knew the things that it
		
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			can do,
		
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			you would be so amazed.
		
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			While it may not seem like nothing more
		
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			than a piece of cloth on my head,
		
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			This scarf has special powers built into every
		
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			single thread.
		
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			It is like a mutant superhero's
		
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			powerful force field,
		
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			protecting me from harm like a brave knight's
		
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			metal shield.
		
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			But all the while, it's soft as silk
		
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			and light just like a feather.
		
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			It is made for all situations
		
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			and can withstand any weather.
		
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			My hijab defends me from the elements like
		
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			the sun's bright hot rays.
		
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			And I never need to use an umbrella
		
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			when there's pouring, pouring rain.
		
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			It keeps my forehead dry.
		
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			And if there's ever a winter storm,
		
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			who needs a hat or earmuffs
		
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			when my scarf can keep me warm?
		
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			I can stick a flower into the side
		
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			or even a whole big bunch.
		
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			It gives me a place to hold supplies
		
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			while I eat my lunch.
		
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			If someone
		
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			takes off their shoes and they have stinky
		
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			smelly toes
		
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			why? I don't have to smell a thing.
		
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			I just
		
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			pull it right over my nose.
		
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			Whether I am running in the gym or
		
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			kicking a soccer ball outside,
		
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			I never worry about sweat dripping down
		
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			or hair going into my eyes.
		
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			I can put my headphones on on top
		
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			or earbuds underneath.
		
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			Shades and glasses fit into the sides like
		
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			a sword into its sheath.
		
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06
			My hijab
		
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08
			can change colors
		
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10
			to match the clothes I wear.
		
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			And no one would ever know
		
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			if I didn't comb my hair.
		
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			Don't worry if I'm ever lost in a
		
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			huge crowded place.
		
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			I'm sure that you can find me. Just
		
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			look for a wrapped up face.
		
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39
			When I'm playing superhero,
		
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			it can be my mask or a cake.
		
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			During a game of hide and seek, I
		
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			can easily escape.
		
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53
			If I'm in a fairy tale, I would
		
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			be the princess
		
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			or the
		
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			queen. My hijab would be the most beautiful
		
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			crown the world has ever seen.
		
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			It can hold my lollipop for me while
		
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			I finish tying my shoes,
		
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			or put a cell phone on hands free
		
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			like I've seen my mother do,
		
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			when the school bully
		
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			tries to put gum in all of the
		
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			girls' hair,
		
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			he looks at me with my hijab and
		
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			thinks I would never dare.
		
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			I'll stop there, but there's a little bit
		
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			more about why the hijab is part of
		
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40
			a
		
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			secret society.
		
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			But so you can get the whole the
		
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			whole book Insha'Allah and
		
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			see how it ends.
		
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			I love it. I can't believe you outed
		
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			us, sis, with the hijabi Bluetooth and panelized.
		
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			You guys That's right. All our secrets out
		
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			there. What is happening?
		
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04
			That was such a joy. We I was
		
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06
			laughing literally LOL.
		
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07
			No laughing.
		
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10
			About what a cute
		
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			buttsey look at the hijab mashaAllah
		
00:19:13 --> 00:19:16
			definitely definitely guide links in the description as
		
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18
			soon as this is you know up and
		
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20
			and and running inshallah thank you so much
		
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			Wendy we love that and may Allah continue
		
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			to bless you in your writing and allow
		
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			you to continue
		
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			writing and publishing more and more books
		
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			in your mother tongue and in English for,
		
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			you know, everyone to enjoy, Insha'Allah. Thank you
		
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35
			so much. That was so cool I was
		
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36
			just laughing out loud
		
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			hallelujah
		
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			all right
		
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			what are we who we got next Let
		
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			me see.
		
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45
			I am going to pass it over to,
		
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			Aisha. Aisha Kadoor, if would you like to
		
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51
			take it away, sis? It's Badri.
		
00:19:52 --> 00:19:55
			Assalamu alaikum, everyone. So lovely to be here.
		
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			So I run,
		
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			a farm in Australia, and my book is
		
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01
			My Horse, Junaid,
		
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03
			and I self published as well.
		
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06
			The reason I did this book was because
		
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09
			I run a mini Muslim playgroup. So for,
		
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10
			you know,
		
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12
			0 to 6 years old.
		
00:20:12 --> 00:20:15
			And basically, I was finding it really hard
		
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17
			at story time in this playgroup
		
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20
			to find books that were engaging for the
		
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			the little attendees.
		
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25
			And I would always source Muslim authored books,
		
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			but I found, there was a gap in
		
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			the market there for something just bright and
		
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			colorful
		
00:20:30 --> 00:20:34
			and really engaging and very short, very short.
		
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37
			Because they weren't able to sit long and
		
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39
			their attention span was so little, But I
		
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40
			also wanted to,
		
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45
			connect their hearts with the beauty of this
		
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47
			blessed animal. This book also comes with a
		
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			little hadith about,
		
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50
			horses
		
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			and how they make a dua. And it
		
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			starts off with a little girl. So it's
		
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			a real life account of me actually,
		
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58
			making dua for a horse
		
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			And
		
00:21:00 --> 00:21:03
			the connection with dua and how important it
		
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05
			is in our life. And my parents always
		
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07
			taught me to make dua, turn every worry
		
00:21:07 --> 00:21:10
			into a dua, every concern into a dua.
		
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11
			So basically,
		
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13
			this little girl makes dua
		
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			and then she,
		
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			it ends with a horse making a dua
		
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21
			for that little girl. And it's actually based
		
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22
			on the true Haggis
		
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24
			where I can read it.
		
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26
			Mawawiya
		
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29
			reports that that he once passed Abu Dhar,
		
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32
			Allah be pleased with him. While the latter
		
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			was standing with a horse of his, he
		
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			asked,
		
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37
			what are you doing with this horse of
		
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39
			yours, Abu Dhar? Replied,
		
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			I think this horse has made a supplication
		
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44
			and has been answered.
		
00:21:44 --> 00:21:47
			Mawawiya asked, and what supplication
		
00:21:47 --> 00:21:50
			does a beast have? He replied, by him
		
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			in whose hand is my soul. There is
		
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			no horse except that it supplicates
		
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			every
		
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00
			every twilight before dawn. Oh, Allah, you have
		
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02
			given me to given to me a servant
		
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05
			of yours and put my provision at his
		
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07
			hands. So make me more beloved to him
		
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09
			than his wife, his property, and his children.
		
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10
			SubhanAllah.
		
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12
			So Iman Ahmed.
		
00:22:13 --> 00:22:16
			Yeah. So SubhanAllah. So horses make a beautiful
		
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17
			du'a for their owner
		
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18
			And,
		
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20
			I found there was a gap in the
		
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21
			market for representation
		
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24
			of farm life, of horses,
		
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26
			love for horses. And all little girls love
		
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27
			horses.
		
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28
			So,
		
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29
			yeah.
		
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32
			I had time in lockdown in Australia to
		
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34
			finally sit down and write it. I self
		
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36
			published which was a huge journey. I had
		
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38
			to be really motivated to do that.
		
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41
			But alhamdulillah, like I was able to do
		
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42
			it and
		
00:22:42 --> 00:22:45
			show that, you know, horses are so special
		
00:22:45 --> 00:22:48
			and to connect them, you know. Connect little
		
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49
			hearts with,
		
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52
			this sunnah as well of looking after horses.
		
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53
			They have physical,
		
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55
			spiritual,
		
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58
			benefits of looking after horses as well. So
		
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59
			this is my book.
		
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02
			And I'll read a little bit here.
		
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05
			So sometimes we ride Junaid.
		
00:23:05 --> 00:23:08
			He is so far years fast, so fast
		
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10
			that he won lots of races when he
		
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11
			was young.
		
00:23:12 --> 00:23:14
			But now he is on our farm.
		
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18
			Most of the time, he moves slowly, plodding
		
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18
			along.
		
00:23:21 --> 00:23:24
			Did you know horses can swim?
		
00:23:24 --> 00:23:27
			Junaid is an excellent swimmer. We take him
		
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29
			to the beach and he loves to splash
		
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31
			in the water, especially on hot days.
		
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35
			Do you like going to the beach too?
		
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40
			Allah loves it
		
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42
			when we take care and be kind to
		
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42
			animals.
		
00:23:43 --> 00:23:46
			Horses are extra special because Allah talks about
		
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48
			them in the Quran saying that they are
		
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48
			blessed.
		
00:23:49 --> 00:23:51
			Did you know horses make du'a to Allah
		
00:23:51 --> 00:23:54
			for their owner to love them? I think
		
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56
			Allah answered Junaid's du'a. Do you think so
		
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57
			too?
		
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00
			And that's just a little bit of my
		
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00
			book,
		
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01
			Andu'a.
		
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04
			Thank you.
		
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07
			A sweet, sweet story.
		
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11
			We love it. Thank you so much. And,
		
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14
			you know, the chat in amongst the authors
		
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16
			is going a bit mad, guys. I just
		
00:24:16 --> 00:24:18
			wanna let you know because everybody is going,
		
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21
			oh, horses, horses, farms. I love it So,
		
00:24:21 --> 00:24:25
			masha'Allah, definitely there are not many books including
		
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26
			some characters,
		
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28
			which have any any animals,
		
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31
			or certainly not sort of farm life and,
		
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33
			you know, farm animals. There's a there's there's
		
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34
			a big shortage there.
		
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36
			So may Allah bless you and your book
		
00:24:36 --> 00:24:39
			and your farm, sis. We want to know
		
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39
			more about that. Maybe we'll have to revisit
		
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40
			this. Maybe we'll have to do like a
		
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41
			writer's retreat or something there. Mhmm. Hold that
		
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42
			thought.
		
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47
			There are lots of Australians on this panel,
		
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49
			so I'm looking at you guys. Right? I'm
		
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50
			looking at you.
		
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51
			I'm doing that.
		
00:24:52 --> 00:24:55
			Right. Let's transition now inshallah. Let's go to
		
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56
			sister
		
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58
			I'm gonna go with sister Amel.
		
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01
			Sister Amel, you wanna take it away inshallah?
		
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06
			And sister Naima. Assalamu alaikum, everybody.
		
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09
			I started writing about 5 years ago.
		
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12
			Most like, you know, like most people here
		
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14
			for their children, we've got all got our
		
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14
			own inspiration.
		
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18
			I wanted also to showcase,
		
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20
			the Muslim life, you know, particularly for non
		
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22
			Muslim kids, but also to help Muslim children
		
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24
			feel, represented,
		
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26
			in in the books that they read. And
		
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28
			so I started writing, I wrote,
		
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30
			My Muslim Make First,
		
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32
			and finally enough, somebody
		
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34
			is in the publishing industry told me or
		
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36
			suggested that I change the name
		
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38
			to My Muslim Friend so that it could
		
00:25:38 --> 00:25:40
			appeal to a wider market. I wanted the
		
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42
			Aussie kids to relate to this book. And
		
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44
			if you know anything about down under,
		
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46
			the word mate is very, very popular here.
		
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48
			So I stuck to my guns and I
		
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49
			stuck to the word mate. And I think
		
00:25:49 --> 00:25:52
			it's very important that we write from from
		
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53
			our heart. You know? I think it's it's
		
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55
			wonderful to be able to sell books and
		
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56
			promote books internationally.
		
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58
			But if we don't write from here,
		
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00
			it becomes a product,
		
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02
			more than just, you know, speaking from the
		
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04
			heart, and for the heart, and all of
		
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05
			that sort of thing. So I think it's
		
00:26:05 --> 00:26:08
			very important as writers that we we often
		
00:26:08 --> 00:26:11
			ask ourselves why we're writing and who we're
		
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13
			writing for. And inshallah, if we have that
		
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15
			pure intention for the the the reason for
		
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16
			why we write, I think
		
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20
			make it easy for us. So I started
		
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22
			off writing Islamic books, and then I delved
		
00:26:22 --> 00:26:25
			a little bit, deeper into my cultural books.
		
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27
			So I read Teta remembers as well. So
		
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29
			this isn't, in particular, an Islamic book, but
		
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31
			you can see that, obviously, the grandmother, the
		
00:26:31 --> 00:26:34
			Teta on the cover, she is wearing hijab.
		
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37
			So I wanted to showcase that as well,
		
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39
			that, you know, not all Muslims have the
		
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41
			same culture, you know, that we are a
		
00:26:41 --> 00:26:43
			mixed bag of people. We come from different
		
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45
			countries. We speak different languages.
		
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46
			But, ultimately,
		
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48
			our Islam is the same. So these are
		
00:26:48 --> 00:26:51
			the sort of, the themes that I I
		
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53
			like to sort of tackle, both faith and
		
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55
			culture. Because I think, in particular here in
		
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56
			Australia,
		
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58
			we're so multicultural,
		
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01
			and we all deserve to see ourselves in
		
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03
			books. And our children deserve to be proud
		
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04
			of who they are,
		
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06
			and not to shy away from that. And
		
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08
			I think when they see themselves represented,
		
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10
			that really,
		
00:27:10 --> 00:27:12
			gives them that encouragement that they need to
		
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14
			be proud of their identity
		
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16
			and to to go forth with with their
		
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18
			comfort knowing that they're doing okay. There's nothing
		
00:27:18 --> 00:27:21
			wrong with wearing hijab, or there's nothing wrong
		
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22
			with bringing food that smells a little bit
		
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25
			different to school, or, speak a language that
		
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26
			sounds a bit throatier
		
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28
			than the the common English.
		
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31
			So with that, I'll talk I'll read a
		
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32
			little bit about, a little bit of it
		
00:27:32 --> 00:27:35
			from my book, Ramadan Rule. This was my
		
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37
			4th book that I self published. I am
		
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38
			a self published author.
		
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40
			And because Ramadan's coming up,
		
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42
			I'll read a little bit about that. I
		
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44
			was going to read from why does mum
		
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45
			wear hijab,
		
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47
			but sister Wendy, had a beautiful reading of
		
00:27:47 --> 00:27:49
			her book about hijab. So I'll leave you
		
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51
			with that in your minds, and I'll read
		
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52
			a little bit
		
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53
			from Ramadan
		
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56
			rules. Basically, this is a book that has
		
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58
			questions and answers about Ramadan. So as a
		
00:27:58 --> 00:28:01
			teacher, I write from an education background, and
		
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03
			I try to use my books as resources
		
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05
			to educate both Muslims and non Muslims.
		
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06
			So.
		
00:28:09 --> 00:28:11
			I'll just start from the beginning, I suppose.
		
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14
			A new moon has been sighted. Tomorrow will
		
00:28:14 --> 00:28:17
			be the first day of Ramadan, inshallah, announce
		
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18
			the voice on the radio.
		
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20
			Mohammed looked out the window at the Ramadan
		
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22
			moon. It was time for him to go
		
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24
			to bed, but he wasn't ready to sleep.
		
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26
			He wanted to know more about Ramadan.
		
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31
			Why do Muslims look for the moon before
		
00:28:31 --> 00:28:33
			Ramadan, Mohammed asked?
		
00:28:33 --> 00:28:36
			The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. It
		
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38
			follows the cycles of the moon.
		
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40
			A new moon means a new Islamic month
		
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41
			has started.
		
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43
			My sister's my illustrator.
		
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46
			Are the Islamic months different to the months
		
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48
			I learned about at school? 1 did Muhammad.
		
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51
			Yes. The Islamic months have their own special
		
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52
			days and events.
		
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55
			They have different names too. You can see
		
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57
			the names of this right there. So it
		
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58
			goes on and on, and he keeps asking
		
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59
			questions,
		
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02
			as his dad's taking him to bed. And
		
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04
			this talk about iftar and support,
		
00:29:04 --> 00:29:06
			and what we do on our eve day.
		
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08
			So when I read this to children, I'll
		
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10
			just show you their favorite page quickly.
		
00:29:12 --> 00:29:15
			It talks about who's exempt from fasting. So
		
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16
			you can see the sick, the traveler,
		
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18
			pregnant, and newborn,
		
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20
			mothers
		
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21
			with newborns,
		
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23
			what we do at the mosque. So things
		
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25
			we do during the month and a month.
		
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27
			And aid, of course.
		
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30
			For children, it's really all about the, money,
		
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32
			the presents, and the sweets.
		
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34
			So, that's a little bit about.
		
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37
			Thank you so much for having me.
		
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39
			I was able to be part of this.
		
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41
			I don't know if sister Naima mentioned, but
		
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42
			down here in us, it's very early in
		
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43
			the AM.
		
00:29:44 --> 00:29:46
			So it's beautiful to see my sister's,
		
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47
			joining as well.
		
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54
			No. To you for waking up early and
		
00:29:54 --> 00:29:56
			joining us and sharing your lovely book writing
		
00:29:56 --> 00:29:59
			journey and your book with us. Definitely
		
00:29:59 --> 00:30:02
			an amazing resource for parents and teachers, as
		
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04
			well as the kids. Masha'Allah. Thank you so
		
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05
			much for that.
		
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07
			And yeah, Eid.
		
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09
			It's all about Eid really, isn't it? At
		
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10
			the end of the day, So, you know,
		
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12
			thanks for keeping it real and, and yeah,
		
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13
			lovely to share that.
		
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18
			And as I said guys please do make
		
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19
			sure that you follow every one of these
		
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21
			authors on their Instagram
		
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22
			and other platforms.
		
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24
			The name that you see on the screen
		
00:30:24 --> 00:30:27
			when they come up is their instagram handle.
		
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28
			So you can find them on instagram in
		
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29
			that way.
		
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31
			Follow their work.
		
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32
			Buy their books,
		
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35
			learn from each other, support each other. That's
		
00:30:35 --> 00:30:38
			the way that we grow as a Muslim
		
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40
			reading and writing community inshallah. And I'm glad
		
00:30:40 --> 00:30:43
			you start with Muslim might as well. I
		
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44
			think that was the right call.
		
00:30:45 --> 00:30:47
			Right. I think I have another Aussie
		
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49
			on the panel, sister Iman. Do Do you
		
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51
			wanna take it away inshallah?
		
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58
			Assalamu alaikum sisters inshallah you're well. Thank you,
		
00:30:58 --> 00:31:01
			Naima, for having me. I'm really excited, I'm
		
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03
			very nervous especially I think I'm one of
		
00:31:03 --> 00:31:05
			the the last ones so I've got, big
		
00:31:05 --> 00:31:07
			shoes to fill, inshallah.
		
00:31:08 --> 00:31:10
			I am currently living in Australia. I'm actually
		
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12
			Lebanese background and was born and raised in
		
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13
			South Africa.
		
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14
			I started writing,
		
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16
			just very sporadically.
		
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17
			I noticed,
		
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20
			there was you know, obviously, my my children,
		
00:31:20 --> 00:31:22
			like all of you, were my inspiration. In
		
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23
			particular,
		
00:31:24 --> 00:31:26
			I wanted young Muslim kids to be able
		
00:31:26 --> 00:31:28
			to see books that identify them, especially young
		
00:31:28 --> 00:31:30
			girls. When my daughter was a bit younger,
		
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32
			there was a lot of around the girls
		
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33
			her age and
		
00:31:34 --> 00:31:38
			around her her particular time where the idea
		
00:31:38 --> 00:31:40
			of hijab and wearing hijab was kind of
		
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42
			restrictive to your life and what you were
		
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43
			able to achieve.
		
00:31:44 --> 00:31:46
			So, I wanted to obviously show that that
		
00:31:46 --> 00:31:48
			is not, you know, that is not the
		
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48
			case. And,
		
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50
			obviously,
		
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52
			I wrote a manuscript, and then,
		
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54
			I'd seen a post by by dear sister
		
00:31:54 --> 00:31:56
			Naima about, are you looking to write a
		
00:31:56 --> 00:31:58
			book? And it just, you know, sparkle out
		
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00
			your desire, and I went for it. And
		
00:32:00 --> 00:32:02
			and, Alhamdulillah, little Hibba has published my book.
		
00:32:03 --> 00:32:05
			And, I got it edited. I was very
		
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06
			fortunate that they need to trust in Allah's
		
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07
			plan for them
		
00:32:08 --> 00:32:10
			and always know that whatever we reach is
		
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11
			by the will of Allah, and that is
		
00:32:11 --> 00:32:13
			always best for us. A lot of the
		
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15
			professions used here are very different to what
		
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16
			you would usually see,
		
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18
			and it's more so just to teach children
		
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20
			that, you know, everybody in the world is
		
00:32:20 --> 00:32:23
			unique. And whatever you end up doing, you
		
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25
			have a special place in the world in
		
00:32:25 --> 00:32:27
			order for everything to function the way that
		
00:32:27 --> 00:32:29
			it does. So, I'll just show you, and
		
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31
			the illustrator is Victoria because Allah has a
		
00:32:31 --> 00:32:33
			special plan for me. I wonder what it
		
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34
			could be.
		
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38
			I could be anything. A parent reading stories
		
00:32:38 --> 00:32:40
			every night and having pillow fights. Fights.
		
00:32:42 --> 00:32:44
			I could have my own family just like
		
00:32:44 --> 00:32:46
			mommy and daddy. I wonder what Allah wants
		
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47
			me to be.
		
00:32:48 --> 00:32:51
			I could be anything, a madrasir teacher helping
		
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53
			students learn the beautiful language of the Quran.
		
00:32:54 --> 00:32:57
			Alif, ba, ta, harf by harf.' They'll be
		
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59
			reading Arabic in no time at all. I
		
00:32:59 --> 00:33:01
			wonder what Allah has decreed for me.
		
00:33:03 --> 00:33:05
			I could be anything, a mechanic repairing broken
		
00:33:05 --> 00:33:09
			cars. Vroom, vroom, vroom. Masha'Allah. It's back up
		
00:33:09 --> 00:33:11
			and running as good as new. I wonder
		
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12
			what Allah wants me to be.
		
00:33:13 --> 00:33:15
			So that's just a little bit of the
		
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16
			book, and at at the end of it,
		
00:33:16 --> 00:33:18
			it's got a bit of a a parent's
		
00:33:18 --> 00:33:18
			guide,
		
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20
			which it's kinda just to,
		
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23
			you know, get conversation going between you and
		
00:33:23 --> 00:33:25
			your child or whoever you're reading the book
		
00:33:25 --> 00:33:27
			to and just get kids thinking a little
		
00:33:27 --> 00:33:29
			bit more and, you know, opening up the
		
00:33:29 --> 00:33:31
			discussion and trusting in my law and instilling
		
00:33:31 --> 00:33:34
			those those values. So I really hope everybody
		
00:33:34 --> 00:33:36
			will like it as much as we enjoyed
		
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37
			putting it together, insha'Allah.
		
00:33:37 --> 00:33:39
			And just thank you all,
		
00:33:39 --> 00:33:41
			for having me today, inshallah.
		
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44
			Yay.
		
00:33:44 --> 00:33:46
			You guys give all yourselves a big round
		
00:33:46 --> 00:33:48
			of applause, a big round.
		
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50
			That was beautiful.
		
00:33:50 --> 00:33:52
			You're all on camera now.
		
00:33:52 --> 00:33:55
			That was lovely. I was so excited because
		
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56
			obviously I know the story and I really
		
00:33:56 --> 00:33:58
			wanted us to get to the end because
		
00:33:58 --> 00:34:00
			of that surprise ending, but never mind. Everybody
		
00:34:00 --> 00:34:02
			has a copy of the book in time.
		
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04
			It's good. No. It's
		
00:34:05 --> 00:34:07
			good. So Spence is good. So Spence is
		
00:34:07 --> 00:34:10
			good. Alright, ladies, it's been absolutely fantastic.
		
00:34:11 --> 00:34:13
			I'm I'm literally fizzing inside
		
00:34:13 --> 00:34:15
			because children's books are just one of my
		
00:34:15 --> 00:34:18
			favorite things. I could literally have book readings
		
00:34:18 --> 00:34:21
			all day long with children's books. So I
		
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23
			just wanna ask every single one of you
		
00:34:23 --> 00:34:25
			to hold up your book, please so we
		
00:34:25 --> 00:34:27
			can see you all with your book. I'm
		
00:34:27 --> 00:34:29
			gonna take a couple of pictures so that
		
00:34:29 --> 00:34:31
			we can have a record of this lovely
		
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32
			meeting.
		
00:34:33 --> 00:34:35
			And yeah. Let's see those beautiful books, Iman.
		
00:34:35 --> 00:34:37
			I need you to yay. Let me see
		
00:34:37 --> 00:34:39
			everyone at once because you're all on camera
		
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39
			right now. Right?
		
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40
			So
		
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43
			yay.
		
00:34:45 --> 00:34:45
			Yay.
		
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47
			Oh, so lovely. Masha'Allah.
		
00:34:48 --> 00:34:50
			Thank you so much, sisters.
		
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51
			May Allah bless you.
		
00:34:52 --> 00:34:54
			May Allah make this, you know, one of
		
00:34:54 --> 00:34:57
			many, many books inshallah before our time here
		
00:34:57 --> 00:34:59
			is done. And I think my dua for
		
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00
			all of you is that Allah
		
00:35:01 --> 00:35:03
			accepts your work and that he makes
		
00:35:04 --> 00:35:04
			your books
		
00:35:05 --> 00:35:07
			the foundations of the next generation,
		
00:35:07 --> 00:35:09
			that you become part of
		
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10
			children's childhoods.
		
00:35:11 --> 00:35:13
			You know, their favorite book that they ask
		
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13
			for at bedtime,
		
00:35:14 --> 00:35:16
			That book that they have to share with
		
00:35:16 --> 00:35:18
			their children when they have their own kids.
		
00:35:18 --> 00:35:20
			You rob, you know, make it so and
		
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21
			accept it from us.
		
00:35:22 --> 00:35:24
			Thank you so much, guys. You can unmute
		
00:35:24 --> 00:35:26
			and give salaam to everybody. Inshallah.
		
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27
			Thank you so much.
		
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29
			Thank you so much.
		
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31
			Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
		
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32
			Thank you so
		
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33
			much.
		
00:35:35 --> 00:35:37
			Have a wonderful day. And You too,
		
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39
			Michael. Michael's here. Bye bye. See you in
		
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40
			the next session.