If you've ever stood at a newsstand, sighing over the inappropriacy of taking home any of the sundry glossy magazines on display, or browsed in a bookstore agonizing over the lack of good quality, Islamic reading material for children, here's some heartening news. Recently, a children's magazine called ‘Little Explorers' was launched by UK-based children's author Shazia Nazlee, which promises interesting, interactive Islamic content for youngsters. The editorial board of the magazine includes Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (from the Islamic Online University) and Sajid Umar (an instructor with UK-based Al-Kauthar institute and Director with Mercy Mission, UK). The first issue of the magazine was out in time for Ramadan and was distributed free of charge “as a Ramadan gift to children all around the world,” said Shazia. And if the comments on the magazine's Facebook page are anything to go by, it was very well received by parents and children alike. “This issue contained articles about Ramadan and activities such as a daily activity pull-out to chart where children learn how to watch their behavior and have small challenges to do, as well as a comic strip for children to read and learn from. “In the Haj issue we have articles about Haj and the history of Haj and how it is performed. To test the children on what they have learnt we have an ‘I spy' game, a word search, the children have to draw a Haj map and become a Haj reporter etc. So the magazine is very active and full of fun and excitement as well as being a great learning tool,” she said. “Some of the features that the magazine will be covering regularly are ‘Lets Learn', where children learn basic Muslim manners of how to meet others, eat, sleep etc; ‘Allah created me', a section where children learn about Allah and His names and attributes; ‘Masjids from around the world' on different mosques from around the world; ‘I am a good Muslim' which is an ongoing series of articles about two characters, and the challenges they face in being good Muslims. There will always be a range of activities in the magazine and when there is a special time of year, for instance, Ramadan, Haj etc the magazine will be dedicated to this month,” she added. Does she feel the magazine can counter the attraction of other, more attention-grabbing media that children are exposed to everyday? “Islam is a growing religion and we here at Little Explorers want children to see that Islam is not boring but a fun and exciting religion which is full of love and mercy. We want children to learn about their roots, their history, their religion in a full and inventive way. The magazine is bright, full of imagination, well-produced and the contributing writers are professionals, who, like me, are passionate about writing and teaching,” says Shazia. Shazia has been writing since she was a young teenager, and has published children's books with international publishing houses like Darussalam and Goodword books. She won a young writer's award in the UK and has been coordinating ladies and children's activities at a local Islamic center called IslamBradford and has founded a school called Little Companions teaching Islamic Studies and Arabic. Browsing over the magazine's website, that has a few pages of the first issue uploaded in a digital version, I was struck by the attention to detail showed by the editors – things like avoiding drawing faces in keeping with the prohibition on making pictures of animate beings. Today, more than ever, our children are in need of authentic Islamic knowledge presented to them in an appealing manner, and I believe niche magazines like this one and others like it would be providing an invaluable service to this end. May their tribe increase! – Saudi Gazette For more information go to: www.littleexplorersmagazine.co.uk/ __
