AbdulRahman Ajibola Farri is a new Muslim author hailing from Nigeria. He has a strong passion for Islam and entertainment, and that led him to produce his first novel, Huma: The Eid Mission. It is an action-adventure story centered around our Eid-ul-Adha holiday.
In discussion with me on his journey and thought process, AbdulRahman explained his goals, and thought process in his brand new book. An edited version of their conversation follows.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Ahmad: Asalamu alaykum, AbdulRahman. How are you doing?
AbdulRahman: Wa alaykum salam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. I’m doing well, Alhamdulillah, I can’t complain.
Ahmad: Okay. So, your first novel’s out. It’s picking up some steam, and I’m sure readers would like to know exactly what it is, what is Huma and what is the Eid mission?
AbdulRahman: Umm, that’s a lot to unpack, actually [laughs]. But in summary, Huma is an action adventure story about a young alien Muslim whose planet is under occupation by an oppressive, racist alien tribe. During the course of the story, he finds a gauntlet which unlocks hidden powers in his alien race. With that, he joins a set of freedom fighters on the mission to liberate his home.
It’s kinda the stereotypical hero’s journey tale, but this one’s in space, centered around Eid and really in touch with current issues happening today.
Ummm, as for Huma, that’s the name of the planet. As for what is the Eid Mission…that I have to remain tight-lipped so as not to drop any spoilers. But I do want to share something about Eid after this interview.
Ahmad: That sounds super exciting. I just wonder, why try such an ambitious story? I mean, most kid books on the market about Eid don’t really have elements such as oppression, battles, etc. So what inspired you to go in that direction?
“It’s kinda the stereotypical hero’s journey tale, but this one’s in space, centered around Eid and really in touch with current issues happening today. “
AbdulRahman: Hmm, I think what inspired me and what really makes the story stand out boil down to three major points. The first is that the ummah lacks great representation in entertainment media. Media is just looked down upon as like film and TV, but viewers, children especially, mirror what they see, and when all they see is non-Islamic stuff, our kids end up mirroring non-Islamic stuff.
Ahmad: But there are some works about Islamic entertainment with good representation.
AbdulRahman: While that is true, the bulk of what I have found tends to focus on a much younger subset of children, leaving tweens, teens, and young adults with nothing to watch that is Islamically healthy.
And this brings me to the second point, which is that I want to create a Muslim entertainment industry for older kids that is fun but also halal in content and execution. My vision is to make Muslim films, tv shows, video games, comics, etc. The issue is that all those media formats I just mentioned cost thousands, if not millions, to produce. So I decided to step back and do something within my reach and cost friendly, which became Huma: The Eid Mission novel.
Ahmad: Ma Sha Allah. That is a great ambition. I hope you see it through.
“The first is that the ummah lacks great representation in entertainment media.”
AbdulRahman: I hope the journey gets easier. [laughs]
Ahmad: Okay, you’ve mentioned two of the features/ reasons you made this work, what about the third?
AbdulRahman: Okay. I’ve been Muslim all my life. However, I had not known about the Palestinian plight since around the beginning of 2023. That is horrible.
I knew about the racism crisis in America because it was talked about a lot in the news and showcased on TV and film. I knew about the drug crisis in America and Mexico, gun violence all over the world, and the mental health crisis everywhere you go, but the issue of the Palestinians got either little or totally biased coverage from traditional news providers and absolutely no reference in great entertainment.
So I thought, I have this revolutionary artwork that could gain people’s attention. What better way to immortalize the Palestinian struggle than by drawing parallels to it and making references within the work? With that today, or in twenty years, fifty years, whenever, if someone ever comes back to my work, they would recall that struggle by our brothers and sisters.
Ahmad: May Allah make it easy for the Muslims in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria and all over the world.
AbdulRahman: Amin.
Ahmad: Well, we’re almost out of time, but you mentioned you wanted to share something about Eid in this story.
AbdulRahman: Yeah. Eid is given a lot of importance in this story, and I wanna dispel the idea any parents could have that I’m making Eid this dark and gloomy event with battles going on. So without further ado, here is a sneak peek at a chapter on Eid:
It was a pleasure speaking with AbdulRahman. He’s extremely dedicated to making Islamic content for young adults. I look forward to his future works.
Please Follow AbdulRahman on Instagram @farriabdulrahmanajibola and make sure to buy a copy of his book!