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The Inspiration for MOMMY'S KHIMAR, by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

10/15/2017

15 Comments

 
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​What inspired me to write MOMMY'S KHIMAR is the same as what inspired me to become a children’s literature author to begin with. Up until two years ago, I had never seriously thought about writing children’s books although I had vague dreams of becoming a novelist. I would like to say there was some deep or ethereal inspiration that began my work in kidlit. However, my children’s book writing really started with a Facebook post.

I’m a member of  a closed Facebook group for Muslim mothers. Members are mainly from the U.S. and many of the members are African American. We discuss a wide range of topics related to parenting and one repeated topic is lack of representation. One day back in 2015 another Black Muslim woman posted to the group about the types of books she wished her kids had--books that told our history and books that represented our kids. Many other mothers chimed in to agree. What was especially true for these moms and for me was that even in stories about Muslim children, Black Muslim children were almost never represented. 

Although in the U.S., Black Americans make up the largest population of Muslims, a post-9/11 focus on representing American Muslims as foreign has meant that almost all portrayals of Muslims are of immigrants from Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. Additionally, in stories about Black people that feature spirituality, Christianity is almost always the faith that’s depicted. Black American Muslims are simply erased in most literature and popular culture. 

I have always been a dreamer and that Facebook post made me daydream for hours. Many characters flooded my mind. The girl in MOMMY'S KHIMAR was one of them.  It sounds strange but it was almost like these characters had always been somewhere locked up in my brain and I just needed an impetus to let them out. I had always had these stories to tell and just needed to tell them.

I jotted down many ideas and then started to plot and organize them. I soon became obsessed with learning how to write children’s books, reading everything I could online, purchasing writing guides for my Kindle app because going to the bookstore took too long, and taking out children’s books from the library so that I could carefully dissect and imitate them. I’m a perfectionist and wanted to get this very interesting artform correct. I spent hours writing and rewriting stories and even reading them to my son who was entering kindergarten around this time. He was my first critic! I found that I loved the challenges of picture book writing. 

One of the stories I began writing was about a little Black girl playing with a hijab, the head covering worn by some Muslim women. Literature about hijab, whether in story, nonfiction, or poetic form, is almost always serious and even political. However, in thinking about how I saw hijab as a little girl, I remember seeing it as a dress up  item--a soft piece of cloth that could be manipulated and used in pretend play. I didn’t want to write another serious story to defend hijab or show its importance. I wanted to take this scarf that has become so controversial and show it as the simple cloth I saw it as while I was a girl.
 
In my stories, I wanted to show my underrepresented people to the fullest extent and that affected my decision to include a non-Muslim family member in MOMMY'S KHIMAR as well as using the word “khimar” in the title. Like many Black American Muslims,  I grew up with Christian relatives. And like many Black American Muslims, I grew up calling the headscarf a “khimar” not a “hijab.”  Both words are used in Islamic scripture; however, for whatever reason, early Black American Muslim communities used the word “khimar” while others don’t commonly do so. I wanted the book to feel unmistakably Black and Muslim for the children of those moms who first inspired me. And I wanted to take that identity and put it in the mainstream. It seems I may get what I want.
 
In publishing with a mainstream publisher, one thing that worries me is whether others will be interested in MOMMY'S KHIMAR and other stories I write. Do others care about the lives of Black American Muslims? I think about my own interest in stories about people whose backgrounds are very different from mine. I think about the time when I went on a reading binge of Victorian novels and my recent discovery of Lisa See’s novels about ancient China and 20th century Asian Americans. I think about how in middle school I identified with so many of the white characters Judy Blume created. And I think about how as a kid I used to write stories for fun and that my characters were always white and never Muslim because the books I read showed me that’s how it was supposed to be. I know intuitively that it’s not impossible to care about characters that are very different from the reader. I know it and yet it’s still a worry.

Thanks for caring enough to read.
​
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
MOMMY'S KHIMAR​ by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Ebony Glenn
Simon & Schuster (Salaam Reads);  April 3, 2018
Currently Available for Pre-order from Amazon and Major Bookstores

15 Comments
Kate Narita link
10/15/2017 01:11:49 am

I can't wait to add this book to my classroom collection. Last year I had a Muslim student, and it was hard to find books to add to my library that had characters that reflected her culture. Thank you!

Reply
Jamilah
10/15/2017 12:00:12 pm

Thank you so much for your support. I'm glad I can contribute to your students!

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aicha
10/15/2017 09:58:10 am

I congratulate you Jamilah and as the time changes the young and old will learn from a child's eye so continue to be among these authors who change thoughts of Muslims and their attire That is why you are a teacher so teach my sister teach

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Jamilah
10/15/2017 12:01:06 pm

Thanks, I'll always try to walk in my purpose as a teacher

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Jessie Oliveros
10/15/2017 01:28:13 pm

I love this post on so many levels! I am so excited that you are a voice Black American Muslims in kidlit, and I hope that you have many other books to come, Jamilah. This is awesome. I'm really looking forward to sharing this book with my children.

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Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
10/18/2017 06:02:58 pm

Thanks a lot for these words of encouragement. I truly appreciate it

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Fonda Muhammad
10/15/2017 10:15:05 pm

Alhamdulillah! Congratulations on having the courage to get Mommy's Khimar written and published. You didn't allow any fears to preclude you from reaching your goal, and I admire you for that. As a matter of fact, you have inspired me to finish writing a book that has been in the archives of my mind for many years. Unfortunately, I have allowed my fear of rejection to keep me from following through. May Allah continue to bless you to fulfill your dreams of becoming a novelist.

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Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
10/18/2017 06:16:31 pm

Alhamdulilah and Ameen! You may not believe this but I almost didn't submit "Mommy's Khimar" or any other manuscript (notice that I have submitted other manuscripts that no one has accepted for publication at this point). I literally had to say aloud to myself something to the effect of "You're afraid of being rejected and you need to get over it. If you fail and get rejected. So what?" There is a serious demand for people who can write from marginalized perspectives. We have to try and we have to be ready to get rejections again and again to earn those rare opportunities to succeed.

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Margaret Greanias link
10/16/2017 10:00:12 am

I'm excited to read your story. I love that you are giving voice to an underrepresented people and I look forward to sharing this with my children and hope it expands their world. I also relate to your experience as a young minority writer -- I too wrote only about white characters, never really thinking writing characters my own ethnicity was an option.

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Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
10/18/2017 06:21:53 pm

Thanks, Margaret. I wonder how many minority writers have similar experiences. It's shocking how easily children can buy into a dominant narrative that erases them.

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Tina Cho link
10/24/2017 05:19:47 am

I like how you saw a need and filled it with your own story! Congratulations!

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marciab
5/11/2018 03:01:53 pm

I would love to be in touch with you. I've lived in Asia for years and and now back in the U.S. I am a music teacher and like to use books to connect children to other cultures. Acceptance and diversity are so important.

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aleta alterkawi
4/17/2019 10:59:41 am

Masha'Allah !! I just received my class book order and yours was the first in the stack! I love, love, love it. Children in my class love it and more importantly identify with it. I'm sure I do not need to tell you about how hard it is for them to see books that they can connect with on such personal level. Your book gave me goose bumps when Grandma was introduced! Wow that is powerful and spoke directly to a few of my little friends. My kindergartners and preschoolers love this book. Bravo! Keep them coming .InshaAllah

Reply
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
4/17/2019 02:10:14 pm

Thank you so much! I haven't checked this post in a while but this just popped up in my email and brightened up my day!

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Catherine Graham
5/31/2019 03:46:51 pm

Thank you for this book! I teach in an area that is predominantly Christian-based, though there is high ethnic diversity. I have two Muslim students in class. We read the book today and everybody had a story about dressing up in their parents' clothes. Everybody was making connections! And my Muslim students volunteered to share about their lives and traditions in a way that was organic and not my white Christian self shoving them onstage and shouting "NOW TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU'RE DIFFERENT!"

Also, if you see this in time, Eid Mubarak!

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