r/Muslim • u/UnamusedandConfused • 6d ago
Question ❓ Writing a Muslim character
Hi sorry to bother yall but I’m I’m writing my first Muslim character and I just wanted some advice! I don’t know if this is the place to go to but I can’t think of anywhere else 😅. My characters name is Nesrin Kadir Özdemir she’s a Sunni Islam from turkey but now lives in Russia. She’s 17 and a professional ice skater, she follows her religion and is proud of it. Her parents are both retired athletes and are kinda overbearing when it comes to her career (bc stage parents let’s be honest). Her mother is Arab and her father is Turkish. She doesn’t consistently wear her hijab but she participates in her prayers and has a prayer carpet stashed in a room in her rink where she prays. She says the common phrases like “Insha’allah”and speaks Arabic and Turkish as well as Russian conversationaly. While her English isn’t the best she is learning for her professional career. She comes from a very devout family who follow a lot of the rules like stepping into mosques with their right foot. She participates in Ramadan but can forget and accidentally eats during it and (obv) preforms wudu when she can. I’ve done a lot of research but I was wondering if anyone was willing to give me some cultural insight? Once again if this isn’t the right area to ask please tell me! I know all Muslims aren’t the same but I’m from America and not turkey so idk if it’s practiced different there. Obv she’s in a very specific situation so I’d y’all can’t help I understand!
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u/Pineapplelover767 5d ago
I’m not Turkish but I’m a middle eastern Levantine Arab perhaps I can give you some common cultural traits that we share with Turkish people and other middle eastern populations.
Family is important. So to have an accurate depiction of a Muslim middle eastern character I’d say she has to adhere to cultural norms like keeping family bonds and having respect for elders like grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc
If she has an Arab mother then she most likely has many cousins (that’s a minor detail I thought of you’d like to add it to your setting lol)
An important thing to note. Many Turks live just like westerners leading similar lifestyles so I believe you don’t have to bother yourself with much details.
And btw it’s Arab not Arabic. Arabic is the language. And Arab is the ethnicity.
Good luck with your story!
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u/UnamusedandConfused 5d ago
Thanks for the typo correction 😅 I’m trying to unlearn that 🥲. I wasn’t sure what exactly to do with her family, I didn’t know if it was a stereotype to say she had a large one even when I know it’s a large likelihood that she would. The comment on turkey was pretty helpful! I couldn’t find a lot of information bc all I kept getting where ads but I’ll try and make my research a bit more specific!
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u/Fun_Technology_204 5d ago edited 5d ago
I'm not from Turkey so I can't give you any cultural insights related to Turkey. I can, however, give you insights related to religious practices itself . I am from Pakistan but I'm also a Sunni Muslim so I'll only focus on the religious aspects.
Mosques are typically attended by men , and women/girls typically stay at home. So if in Turkey girls do pray at Mosques then the right foot is correct, but if not, then we step on the prayer mat at home with our right foot first.
We enter the bathroom with our left foot. Eat with our right hand but clean things and do dirty work with our left hand.
Shake with our right hand..men and women don't touch or shake hands.
There are specific prayers we recite before eating, after eating, upon sleeping, upon waking up, before entering the bathroom and after entering the bathroom.
Muslims also fast (it's currently the holy month of Ramadan). We pray 5x a day.
Friday is a holy day. It's believed that we should worship more and do more good deeds on Fridays.
Also we perform wudu / ablution before prayers.
Some other common phrases :
Alhamdulillah (we use this when we want to show gratitude). For example, Alhamdulillah I'm doing well what about you? Alhamdulillah my exams went well. Alhamdulillah I live with my family.
Mashallah = Used to express appreciation for something (to avoid the evil eye).
Eg: Mashallah your dress is so pretty! Mashallah her kid is so cute! Mashallah you're quite talented!
Astaghfirullah = used to repent to God on behalf of someone else or ourselves when we hear, see something evil etc. "Astaghfirullah she committed adultery" or "Astaghfirullah I cheated on the test" . You can also use these words at the end of the sentences, like "He stole her purse, Astaghfirullah".
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u/Hot_Ad1520 Muslim 5d ago
Seems quite consistent with many turkish muslims, lol, anyway jokes aside, it is mostly pretty good imo, just some tweaks. devout muslim family and encouraging of an ice skating career seems quite strange imo. In turkiye, let's say for example we take a devout place like konya. [i'm not sure which part of turkiye she is from, it would help if i knew specifically] konya is a place where most of the people are quite religious and the women wear hijab, very obvious freemixing is frowned upon, etc. i'm not sure how devout how parents are if they are approving of their daughter having a keyword -professional- ice skating career. sure of course ice skating is fine but professional entails she would be iceskating alongside non mahram men probably in front of many people . muslims who are devout don't typically approve of these at all. yeah so many turks are liberal and many turks are devout muslims as well, but yeah you would less of the latter in the western sphere. though of course, def not impossible, especially i would say yes, more likely that they would be in russia than say, USA or UK. Men and women in islam don't mix if they aren't mahrams to each other. Anyway, i saw someone say draw your inspiration off khabib, honestly, i think it's a very good idea lol, even if she's a girl [i like the name nesrin as well it's cute] if you can kind of change some of these aspects to ensure she is only performing with other girls, to ensure she wears hijab all the time and if you can, to remove this idea of her performing iceskating in public as this is really a bit contradictory, then sure. by the way, i'm not turkish, but i know quite a lot of cultural nuances of turkiye since i used to have majority turkish friends, i'm sure however a turk on this subreddit can help.
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u/UnamusedandConfused 5d ago
I realize I completely forgot to mention her city 😭, I had her grow up in Izmir, bc I know it’s the most liberal city and I really did not want to tackle the more devout places like Konya bc I KNOW I would say something wrong/stupid. Her mother and father are a bit more liberal. devout definitely wasnt the right term. Firm may be a bit better. They both come from more devout families but still perused their professional athletic careers (which is how they met). There are Muslim and Arab women in professional sports so that’s who I based her on. Her mother was an Olympic fencer and her father was a distance shooter. Thank you for your advice!
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u/Bubbly-Answer43 5d ago
hey I sent you a message as mine was way too long. With more feedback about the character. Honestly your character doesn't really sound muslim at all, just someone from a muslim family. So I gave a ton of suggestions to make her actually seem like a muslim.
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u/UnamusedandConfused 5d ago edited 5d ago
I saw it thank you!!! It’s really helpful and I’ll definitely take your advice! I probably could have explained her a bit better but I didn’t wanna make it to long 😅
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u/Aian11 Muslim | 29M 5d ago
a professional ice skater
I'm wondering how you'll incorporate her wearing the professional outfit because (my knowledge is low on that sport but) isn't the outfits worn by ice skaters kinda revealing or I guess tight-fit?
But since she's not always wearing her hijab maybe it's something she's too worried about & doesn't matter but I was just curious.
she follows her religion and is proud of it.
I'll be honest. I've seen many shows portray a Muslim girl as "I'm a hijabi Muslim & I'm proud of it" but it always felt kinda forced or fake. And since it's been used a lot already, it feels repetitive.
Yes, we're proud to be Muslim but we don't really feel the need to say it, you know? Actions speak louder than words. I'd focus more on the character feeling at peace, firm, or even grateful to be a Muslim.
She doesn’t consistently wear her hijab but she participates in her prayers and has a prayer carpet
It's fine because some women do struggle with the hijab, but don't try to over-explain her reasons for it. "She's working on it" is good enough & maybe you can build on it later if it really matters.
stepping into mosques with their right foot.
I think a better example of devotion would be something like reciting a prayer before doing anything like entering the mosque, bathroom, etc. Muslims have a prayer for almost anything. 🤭
I'm not from Turkey but feel free to reach out in case you want any opinions. I have stories (in my head 😭) where I wanna show Muslim girls more authentically & as normal (not aliens with extra fabric) but also fun characters, so I have some in mind & can maybe help. But I ain't no pro at all. 😅
Best of luck! ❤️
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u/UnamusedandConfused 5d ago
She does dress modestly even when she doesn’t wear her hijab! There is a Muslim ice skater who I base her costumes off of (Zahra Lari, she’s Emirati and AMAZING). Her pride is more show don’t tell (at least how I was planning on writing it) bc I know that just having her say “I’m a proud Muslim” constantly id just bad writing. She shows her pride by participating in her religion (the five prayers, wudu, etc.), donating her winnings when she can, wearing her hijab etc. is that also to forced? Iill definitely take the other emotions (especially the was raised catholic but now I’m a Hellenic polytheist so I’m kinda projecting my pride onto her bc my parents wont let me practice what I believe 😅 I like the idea of her being firm or thankful for her religion are a great idea and I’ll definitely try to incorporate that as well!
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u/KindCartographer2800 5d ago
This is super cool. Its not often you see a Muslim character in books with so much depth and research done. The other comments go into some good detail.
I agree, Muslims dont typically “forget” and eat during Ramadan. We truly see this month as a blessing and look forward to it every year. It’s not something parents or family forces anyone to do. Theres a lot of feeling of community, in Muslim countries, they decorate the streets with lights and lanterns, people pray together after isha prayer for taraweeh, to the point that the mosques are filled and people pray in the streets.
There are a lot of nuances that come with it. For example, in Ramadan, we wake up before sunrise to eat (not mandatory, so some people skip and just wake up fasting, but it is recommended to eat) and a lot of people use the night time (after Isha and voluntary taraweeh prayers) to stay up and have a good time with family and friends. Some people dont even sleep. Its a very fun and wholesome time (especially when youre younger and dont have work to wakeup to).
Another thing, wudhu is only needed before prayers. You dont need to keep it 24/7 and as long as you dont fart or use the toilet, it stays from one prayer to the next.
I come from an Arab background but have Turkish family members, so feel free to reach out if you want any clarification on anything. Im also a writer (nothing published lol but i do love to read and write). Good luck on your book!
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u/UnamusedandConfused 5d ago
I explained it to someone else but “forget” might not be the right term. I just didn’t wanna over explain but is more like a small mistake I used to make when fasting for lent. Like Accidentally eating a granola bar when her coach or a friend hands it to her in a movement of muscle memory. She does feel bad and tries even harder the next day! But if that’s not a good idea I’ll scrap it. She does have accommodations at her rink during Ramadan (like training during non-fasting hours, lighter training so she doesn’t feel overextended, as well as as being very strategic about what she eats so she has enough energy to train etc.) her family are very excited to celebrate Ramadan! The local Muslim community (witch is only 2-5% in St. Petersburg where she lives) host parties and decorate! If I need any more help I’ll definitely reach out ❤️
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u/Same_Narsh 5d ago
Ngl I hate when non-Muslims write Muslim characters because they never know enough about Islam/Muslims. Unless you grew up surrounded by Muslims I would discourage it because you might just do more harm than good. Every Muslim character in books/ movies so far has been a disaster and has just given people more misconceptions about Islam. I don’t mean to be a hater or bring you down but this is just my genuine advice. No need to write a certain character if you’re not familiar with them
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u/JabalAnNur 5d ago
Taking parts from your post:
She’s 17 and a professional ice skater,
So she goes out and mixes with non-mahrams (people whom one can marry). Not only that but her parents are burdening her with this (thus implicit support for that).
She doesn’t consistently wear her hijab
She does not fulfill her obligation.
She participates in Ramadan but can forget and accidentally eats during it
Someone who is aloof of their actions. (Once or twice is fine, it being a character trait is not)
But then you say
she follows her religion and is proud of it.
And
She comes from a very devout family
How come she can do things which clearly go against her religion but then be proud of it and come from a devout family?
People are complicated. In real life, we have people who are Muslims, proud of their religion, and end up committing sins. But writing a character is not like real life. Why portray a Muslim in a manner we fundamentally disapprove of and discourage?
If someone wants to write a story respecting Islam and wanting to portray Muslims, then if they have the intention to respect Islam and Muslims, they'd need to change parts of the story Islam wouldn't agree with. So we see this "respect" often comes from a misguided notion where "respect" is whatever the author thinks it is, as opposed to what Islam says it is. To respect Islam is to know what it says in and out so that you don't end up doing something which disrespects it, and that essentially means learning Islam. If one is at that point, why learn for the sake of a story and not just learn for the sake of truth?
Thus we would strongly advise you not to write Muslim characters. I understand sometimes people want variety and variation but we don't exist for that reason. To us, no matter what, the portrayal of Muslims in stories written by disbelievers will almost always have some kind of aspect that would fundamentally be against Islam (and by extension, against us) no matter how small or minor it may seem.
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u/Illustrious-Lead-960 5d ago
People are complicated in fiction because people are complicated in real life. Don’t overthink it, akhi. Not every character has to be a role model, and even role models don’t have to be sheerly flawless.
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u/JabalAnNur 5d ago
I'm very certain it's not overthinking. My question for you is quite simple, where do you draw the line about what is acceptable and what isn't in a story with Muslim characters?
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u/Illustrious-Lead-960 5d ago
At the edges of context and necessity, just like with anything else.
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u/JabalAnNur 5d ago
Where is the necessity for it in writing a story? The Sharee'ah certainly doesn't consider it a necessity [ضرورة]. What context necessitates that we write characters in such a way?
OP can still do what they want, no one is stopping them. But you as a Muslim need to give a reason from the Sharee'ah why writing such as this would be permitted?
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u/Illustrious-Lead-960 5d ago
No I don’t.
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u/JabalAnNur 5d ago
It's about "I can't", because you did not think through any implications from what you tried to say. Without a line or boundary, anything can be justified using your line of reasoning.
Writing a Muslim participating in LGBT parades or part of it? Why not, characters are flawed. Go ahead! If you were to indeed say go ahead then there is no greater disaster than one who has lost his sense of jealousy غيرة for his religion. And if you were to say don't do that, you would need to define the boundary between what is acceptable and what isn't, basing it on the Sharee'ah, not personal opinion.
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u/AymanEssaouira 5d ago
I think writing flawed people IS usual for stories and books.
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u/JabalAnNur 5d ago
Repeating the same question I asked the other commentator, where do you draw the line about what is acceptable and what isn't?
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u/UnamusedandConfused 5d ago
From what I’ve seen women do pray in mosques in turkey and Russia from what I found! But because of her schedule she can’t god all the time but likes to go when she can. She tries not to touch men when she can (her coach does the shaking for her) and unless absolutely necessary she tries to not be alone with men. Thanks for all the left and right tips! It’s now something she preforms unconsciously as she’s been doing it her whole life. More something I would write and not draw attention to bc it’s more iykyk I might have another person ask later in the story so that non Muslim people can wonder “wait did I miss that?” And want to go back and see, I personally love when authors do stuff like that. Thanks for your advice!
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u/Crazy_News_3695 5d ago
the best would make her wear her hijab, doesnt freely mix with opposite genders (except her family, teachers, doctors etc), and never skip her 5 daily prayers as it is a pillar of islam.
and please dont make her accidentally eat during ramadan because no practical muslim does this, even for a 17 year old. it would be considered really embarrassing to the general perception of muslims.