Muslim Biography

Find Another Dream, written and performed by Maysoon Zayid, is the true story of how a Muslim Jersey girl with cerebral palsy creates her own path to stardom. The daughter of Palestinian immigrants, as a child she dreamed of one day dancing on Broadway. As a teen, a bubble-bursting choreographer told her to “find another dream”, so she set her sights on becoming a soap star, undeterred by the fact that the odds were against her.

Egyptian-born and London-raised, Alya Mooro grew up between two cultures and felt a pull from both. Where could she turn for advice and inspiration when it seemed there was nobody else like her? Today, Mooro is determined to explore and explode the myth that she must identify either as ‘Western’ or as one of almost 400 million other ‘Arabs’ across the Middle East.

Annahita Parsan was born into a Muslim family in Iran and grew up with the simple hope of one day finding a good husband, having children, and doing some good in the world. Married and a mother before she turned 18, Annahita found herself unexpectedly widowed and trapped for years in an abusive second marriage that she later fled - discovering instead a God who might love her. Stranger No More is the remarkable true story of Annahita's path from oppression to the life-changing hope of Jesus.

Al-Hasan al-Wazzan - born in Granada to a Muslim family that in 1492 went to Morocco - became famous as the great Renaissance writer Leo Africanus, author of the first geography of Africa to be published in Europe (in 1550). He had been captured by Christian pirates in the Mediterranean and imprisoned by the Pope; when he was released and baptized, he lived a European life of scholarship as the Christian writer Giovanni Leone....

Beginning with a sweetly funny, moving account of her arranged marriage, the author undercuts stereotypes and offers the refreshing view of an American life through Muslim eyes. In chapters leavened with humor, hope, and insight, she recounts an immigrant's daily struggles balancing assimilation with preserving heritage, overcoming religious barriers from within and distortions of Islam from without, and confronting issues of raising her children as Muslims - while they lobby for a Christmas tree!

Part memoir and part how-not-to guide, The Wrong End of the Table is everything you wanted to know about Arabs but were afraid to ask, with chapters such as “Tattoos and Other National Security Risks,” “You Can’t Blame Everything on Your Period; Sometimes You’re Going to Be a Crazy Bitch: and Other Advice from Mom,” and even an open letter to Trump. This is the story of every American outsider on a path to find themselves in a country of beautiful diversity.

Shortly after 9/11, Norman, a national director for World Vision's poverty reduction program in Mauritania, and his daughter, Hannah, were driving to the beach when an Arab man opened fire on his parked car, severely wounding him and his daughter. After their recoveries, the family made the extraordinary decision to stay in Mauritania, to maintain their commitment to the poor in their community, and to forgive the man who had hurt them.

When Nusrit Mehtab joined the Met Police in the late 80s the organisation was rife with racism and misogyny. Officers refused to patrol with her, or even call her by her name. Her attempts to get promoted were met with hostility and ridicule and she was subject to cruel pranks. As the years passed and her seniority grew, Nusrit was dismayed to find that these problems got worse, not better. After 30 years, she finally had enough and left the MET, initiating an employment tribunal against them in the process.

When Jenny Jones and her three children move from their Washington home to that of Jenny's in-laws in the West Bank, the village of Safa seems like a haven. Sheltered from much of the area's troubles, Jenny considers the village to be the ideal place for her children to explore a part of their identity they deserved to know more about. In spite of its pastoral charm, Safa is far more complex than Jenny had imagined.

Born in Britain, Saira Shah was inspired by her father's dazzling stories to rediscover the now lost life their forebears knew for 900 years within sight of orchards, snow-topped mountains, and the minarets of Kabul. This is Saira, part sophisticated and sensitive Western liberal, part fearless (even fierce) life-gulping Afghan, falling in love with her ancestral myth, chasing Afghanistan.

Blessed Ramon Llull’s ultimate act of final perseverance was not one single decision made by grace, but the culmination of a life spent adhering to the will of God. The Memoirs of Blessed Ramon Llull is a thrilling narrative, reading almost like an action novel. In this autobiographical work, he humbly details his triumphs as well as his own weaknesses and disappointments. Due to rivalries between Catholic leaders, Bl. Ramon’s missionary zeal faced indifference from within the Church as well as resistance from without.

This book is a way to open a window into the world of ex-Muslims that is still a mystery to most people living in Western countries. Due to this being an autobiography, it also has a lot of personal details that are not directly linked with religion. The progression to its goal is gradual, but like any journey, we find meaning in the details.

In this biographical collection, authors Saadia Faruqi and Aneesa Mumtaz highlight some of the talented Muslim physicians, musicians, athletes, poets, and more who helped make the world we know today. A brilliant surgeon heals patients in the first millennium. A female king rules the Indian subcontinent. A poet pours his joy and grief into the world’s best-selling verses. An iconic leader fights for civil rights. And many, many more.

Discover how all things are possible with God! Sharing the gospel with those from different cultures and belief systems can sometimes seem futile, especially when it comes to reaching Muslims. The gap between Christianity and Islam is vast, and bridging cross-cultural values can seem impossible.

Malcolm X was a widely known African American Muslim minister and civil liberties leader at the time of the civil liberties movement. He was an enthusiastic supporter for Black emancipation and the big promotion of Islam within the Black community till 1964, when he ended up being the Country of Islam's spokesperson. Following his dad's death and his mom's institutionalization, Malcolm spent his teenage years in a series of foster families or with loved ones. He took part in some unlawful acts before being sentenced to 10 years in jail for larceny and breaking and going into in 1946.