Sisters Magazine

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Living Halal (5 April 2008), Facing the Challenges, Savoring the Triumphs: Life of a New Muslim, Ummah Wide Video, retrieved 10 June 2011 Khan, Rahla (19 July 2010), There's Way More to the World Than MTV, A1 Saudi Arabia News, retrieved 9 June 2011

Bryony Gordon (25 April 2005), That Muslim Woman Could be Happier Than You, The Telegraph, retrieved 9 June 2011 Robert, Na'ima B. (25 July 2008), Behind the Veil: The Online Diary of a British Muslim Woman, The Times Online, retrieved 9 June 2011 Bovey Alhakawati, Nicole (29 April 2007), Book Review: From My Sisters' Lips, On Islam, retrieved 9 June 2011 Robert, Na'ima B. (1 June 2008), Amazing Glimpse Into Ordinary Yet Extraordinary Lives, The Guardian, retrieved 9 June 2011 Na'ima B Robert (born Thando Nomhle McLaren; 19 September 1977) is an author of multicultural literature and founding editor of the UK-based Muslim women's publication, SISTERS Magazine. Born in Leeds to a Scottish father and Zulu mother, both from South Africa, Robert grew up in Zimbabwe and attended university in England. She converted to Islam in 1998. Currently Robert divides her time between London and Cairo with her three daughters and two sons. Her husband Henry Amankwah died in April 2015.Suleaman, Nasreen (5 November 2006), How Veil Remarks Reinforced Its Support, BBC News, retrieved 9 June 2011 Rawe, Julie (29 April 2009), Book Review: From Somalia, With Love, Muslim Voices, retrieved 9 June 2011 In February 2021, she wrote and published 'Show Up', [10] a personal story of the author reflecting on her journey of life with references to quotes from the Qur'an, Hadith and contemporary thinkers.

Robert's young adult fiction novel Boy vs. Girl includes the niqāb-wearing character, Auntie Najma. The Auntie Najma character has been both negatively and positively criticised as either an unrealistic portrayal or as a positive role-model for Muslim youth. [16] Robert has said that Auntie Najma, like the other characters, is an amalgamation of real sisters she knows personally. [17] Bibliography [ edit ] Picture books [ edit ] After teaching in the classroom and founding a private home school, Robert began writing multicultural picture books with Muslim themes for children. Her first picture book, The Swirling Hijab, was included in the Booktrust programme. Robert's picture books and young adult fiction have had cross-over appeal being accepted for inclusion in state settings, such as schools and multicultural training, as well as recognised as Islamic fiction amongst Muslims. [5] [6] To date she has published thirteen picture books for children, many of which are used in dual language settings and are published in up to 31 languages, including Tamil, Kurdish, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, Yoruba, Czech, Arabic, Polish, Chinese, Urdu, Panjabi, French, Swahili and Farisi. Journey Through Islamic Arts was awarded the UK National Literacy Trust Association WOW! Award for Best Children's titles. Robert is a full-time observer of the niqāb (Islamic face-veil) and a vocal advocate for women's right to choose to fully cover. Soon after becoming Muslim in 1998 Robert began to wear the niqāb full-time in 1999. In her memoir, From My Sisters' Lips, Robert explained the effect of wearing niqāb, "[The covered woman] cannot be judged on her appearance because nothing personal about her can be seen...She does not feel the need to live up to society's changing expectations of women's bodies...So whoever relates to her must relate to what she has presented – be it what she says, does or thinks." [11] Robert is one of the founding members of Veiled Justice and has represented the East London Mosque on Muslim women's issues. She has spoken in support of the niqāb in numerous British media, including The Telegraph, BBC News, The Times Online, BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and Channel 4's Undercover Mosque series; as well as speaking to Muslim and international media outlets, such as for Islam Channel and AIM TV. [12] [13] [14] [15] Journey Through Islamic Art (Mantra Lingua, 2005, hardcover) ISBN 1-84444-350-7 ISBN 978-1-84444-350-5 As a trail-blazing author of over 20 diverse fiction titles for children and teens, as well as the bestselling memoir, ‘From My Sisters’ Lips’, Na’ima’s work has been read, studied, debated and translated multiple times, all around the world.My Around the World Scrapbook (Tango Books, 2008, hardcover) ISBN 1-85707-702-4 ISBN 978-1-85707-702-5 Umm Imran (10 August 2010), Book Review: Boy vs. Girl, Mum and Muslim Magazine, retrieved 9 June 2011 Over the past 20 years, Na’ima B. Robert has been telling stories and helping other women tell theirs.