Islamic lore: New book features 28 stories from Quran

Here's an Eid gift for children from author Anita Nair - a book of 28 stories from the Quran as narrated by Muezza, a cat, to a young camel Baby Jaan.
The enchanting nuggets of Islamic lore range from God breathing life into the first man and woman to Iblis, the djinn-turned-angel to the 99 names of Allah, the blessed she- camel, the mighty King Sulaiman and much, much more.
Baby Jaan, with an appetite for stories, and Muezza, who loves to snooze, are lost in the unending desert. Finding each other amid the lurking perils of the dunes, their dodged fight for survival fosters an unlikely friendship.

As Muezza spins tales, Baby Jaan can't help but be mesmerised.
Nair wanted to write about Islamic lore - stories culled from the Quran and the Hadith.
"And I was certain that the book had to be for children - for young minds are what we need to invest in for a chance of change. Let children everywhere - Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Jain or otherwise - discover the stories from the Quran and delight in them and learn from them.

Stories are, after all, stories; and no religion can stake claim to them," she says.
"Suddenly I knew where to begin. And then, as it usually happens with each book I write, two characters - a cat and a camel, in this case - appeared from nowhere, and I had my epiphany on how to take the book forward," she says about the plot.

According to Nair, "Muezza and Baby Jaan: Stories from the Quran" is for young readers but it is also a book for anyone who wonders what the Quran contains, apart from the teachings of a religion.
"In fact, al-Quran literally means 'the reading'; and how can a work that means this most beautiful of phrases be limited to just being a scripture? The wealth of its stories, and the lyricism, poetry and flow of its narrative make it as much a literary text as a holy book," she says.
The book, published by Puffin, has illustrations by Harshad Marathe.
The idea of the book came to Nair post the September 21, 2013 attack on an upscale mall in Nairobi. The mass shooting had left 67 people dead and more than 175 people injured.

"Amidst all the kerfuffle of reportage, one thing struck me in particular. An eyewitness was reported to have said that the attackers had asked Muslims to leave, declaring that only non-Muslims would be targeted. Among other aspects of the vetting process, the hostages were asked to name Prophet Muhammad's mother as a litmus test that would distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims," she says.
Nair found it both astounding and horrific that a piece of information could have saved a life.
But why was this information not out there for all to know, she asked.
"In many parts of the world, including India, almost every non-Christian knows that Jesus' mother was Mary and his father, Joseph; and of the story of Jesus' birth and his crucifixion. Non-Hindus know that the Ramayana is about Rama and Sita and Rama's battle against Ravana; that the Mahabharata is about the Kauravas and the Pandavas, that Krishna was an avatar of Vishnu.

"But even the most erudite among non-Islamic people know nothing about the Quran or what is in it," she says.
Teaching a faith demands expertise; but what of the accompanying lore that goes into fleshing out the wisdom? she asks.
"Why is it that we barely know anything of Islamic lore? Religious preachers have always sought parables to explain a tenet. But even in isolation and removed from doctrine, these allegorical stories have an appeal of their own. The storyteller in me roused and shook herself," she says.
On her writing stories based on the Quran, Nair says, "I have been told that I am entering dangerous territory. That, as a Hindu writing about the holy book of Islam, I'm inviting trouble. That to me smacks of prejudice more than anything else.