Jannah Jewels Book 7: Triumph In Turkey

About the authors

Umm Nura: Umm Nura is the pen name associated with Jannah Jewels, an award-winning Islamic adventure series written for children and early readers. The series was launched in 2009 by a small team based in Vancouver, Canada, and grew into a widely read collection of chapter books illustrated for young Muslim audiences. The author has described herself as a homeschooling mother with a background in education, holding a master's degree in curriculum and instruction and years of classroom teaching experience. The Jannah Jewels books follow four young Muslim girls, each with her own skills and strengths, who travel back through time and across the globe, with destinations such as Timbuktu, China, Baghdad, and Cordoba, working together to keep a precious trust safe from a power-hungry villain. Woven through the adventure are glimpses of Islamic history, geography, and notable figures, presented in an accessible, engaging style. The stated aim of the series is to nurture confident Muslim identities and to offer children protagonists they can see themselves in, while encouraging initiative, physical activity, courage, and good character. The books are produced collaboratively, with co-authors and illustrators contributing across the volumes, and have become a familiar fixture on Muslim children's bookshelves. As a contemporary children's author working under a pen name, biographical detail beyond this remains limited.

Tayyaba Syed: Tayyaba Syed is an American Muslim author, journalist, keynote speaker, and educator based in Illinois, where she lives with her husband and three children. She is best known for children's literature that brings Islamic history, good character, and faith to young readers through warm, adventurous storytelling. With co-author N. Rafiq, she wrote several volumes of the widely read Jannah Jewels series of Islamic chapter books, among them Mystery in Morocco (Book 6), Triumph in Turkey (Book 7), Adventure in America (Book 8), and Surprise in Syria (Book 9). In these stories, a team of young heroines follow clues across Muslim history to recover hidden artifacts, introducing children to places and figures from across the Muslim world. Her picture books include The Blessed Bananas, a Muslim fable that earned several gold literary awards, and the board book Hafsa's Kisses, recipient of the Daybreak Book Award. As a journalist, her writing has appeared in publications including NPR, Chicago Parent, and Islamic Horizons, and she has contributed to numerous book titles. A longtime student and volunteer with the Rabata organization, she has served on its board and taught in its programs, and she has given many literary and faith-based presentations to schools and communities both online and in person.