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Islamic Stories
New
Horizon School is pleased to post the following Islamic stories by Dr. Jamil
Momand. Dr. Momand is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry at California State University at Los Angeles and father of two
former New Horizon students, Sahar and Marjon. Introduction
These 17 short stories
were previously printed between 1981 and 1985 in "The Minaret", a
magazine published by the Islamic Center of Southern California.* The
stories were written separately during my undergraduate and early graduate
school period at UCLA as part of a monthly column known as "The Children's
Corner". I felt that the stories may be useful as part of the Islamic
education our Muslim children require as they grow up in an environment that is
unfamiliar with Islam. The stories are divided into two sections:
non-fictional and fictional; and the distinction between the two should probably
be emphasized to the child when he or she reads the stories.
The two
primary sources utilized for the non-fictional stories were The Holy Quran,
translated by Yusuf Ali, and Muhammad, His Life Based On the Earliest Sources,
by Martin Lings. To be accurate as possible, most of the quotations from
the prophets used in the stories are taken directly from the original translated
Quranic passages. Once the child learns Arabic, it is hoped he or she will
read the stories in the Quran in their original form to gain a more complete
understanding of them.
The
fictional stories deal, for the most part, with young Muslims developing in an
environment that is unfamiliar with Islam. Dilemmas and relationships
involving parents, teachers, Muslim and non-Muslim friends are explored.
The fictional characters are easy to relate to because many of their experiences
may be similar to the ones Muslim children encounter growing up. While the
main emphasis of this book is to make Islam fun and "reachable" for
children, it is also a book of morals and ethics. I can not think of a
better way to teach a child these principles than through the telling of an
exciting story.
These
stories may also be useful to adult Muslims that have just accepted Islam.
They may enjoy it for its details of the prophets' lives and, later, get a more
thorough understanding by reading the Quran.
I deeply
appreciate "The Minaret" for allowing me to publish these stories.
I also thank my wife, Mariam, for compiling and word processing the stories and
for her unlimited patience and encouragement.
Jamil Momand
*
Halima Falls in Love with Baseball, written in summer 2001, was not
previously published
| Part I - Non Fiction |
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Part II - Fiction |
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