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Celebrate Eid with Five Awesome Muslim Characters

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Adiba Jaigirdar

Staff Writer

Adiba Jaigirdar is an Irish-Bangladeshi writer, poet, and teacher. She resides in Dublin, Ireland and has an MA in postcolonial studies. She is currently working on her own postcolonial novel and hopes that someday it will see the light of day outside of her computer screen. Twitter: @adiba_j

View All posts by Adiba Jaigirdar

It’s that time of the year again. Eid-ul-Adha. Or as some people call it – big Eid. Usually, we celebrate this Eid with a lot of food, visiting friends and relatives, new clothes, and sometimes even presents! This year though, I’m going to add something new to the mix – five awesome Muslim literary characters:

1. Sofia Khan from Sofia Khan is Not Obliged

sofia khan is not obliged cover

Sofia Khan has been called the Muslim Bridget Jones a lot. And honestly, she is that, but she’s also so much more. Sofia is both hilarious and totally awkward, which makes Sofia Khan is Not Obliged a laugh-out-loud book to read. But she’s also deeply compassionate and loyal to her friends and family, along with herself and her faith.

 

 

 

2. Asiya Haque from God Smites and Other Muslim Girl Problems

Asiya is a totally relatable character in her struggle to juggle her life as a Bengali Muslim girl in the Western world. It’s difficult – any Muslim can tell you that. But on top of that, Asiya is caught up in this strange mystery. How many teenage girls can survive strict Muslim parents and go behind their backs to solve a murder? Not many! (Honourable mention to Asiya’s mom, Khushie. Because she’s the kind of mom you need when a murderer is on the loose.)

 

3. Farah Mirza from The Gauntlet

No twelve-year-old wants to spend their birthday with their little brother. But Farah, somehow ends up having to spend her twelfth birthday trying save her brother from the clutches of a board game with a life of its own. All throughout, Farah never wavers. Her strength, compassion, and intellect are truly admirable. But so is her ultimate loyalty – not just to her little brother, but also to her friends, and all the allies she makes in the Gauntlet.

 

4. Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel

I’ve only read the first two issues of Ms. Marvel so far but I love Kamala. A dorky Pakistani-American girl that writes Avengers fanfiction and plays too many video games? Yes, please. Kamala’s also brash, which gets her into a fair bit of trouble. But it’s fine, because she’s slowly figuring things out, just like any other normal teen girl – she just has superpowers added to the mix.

 

 

5. Nahri from The City of Brass

I fell in love with Nahri basically from the first chapter of The City of Brass. She is clever, cunning, and deceptive. Growing up without family has made her intent on survival through any means necessary. Which is exactly what makes her a great character. She makes decisions based on her self-preservation – but they’re never rooted in selfishness. All of this makes Nahri into a character who is palpably real.

(Note: The City of Brass will be out November 14th, 2017)