[ti:Book Aims to Help Young Americans Understand Islam] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.12]Middle school is a difficult time for many young people. [00:04.80]For Amina, an attack on the Islamic Center her family attends [00:10.60]adds to the problems she already has. [00:14.60]And a visiting uncle from Pakistan says [00:19.66]Amina should read the Quran more often and stop playing the piano. [00:26.28]Anima is the main character in the fictional story, [00:30.64]"Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan. [00:34.76]Khan was at a Washington, D.C area bookstore recently [00:39.52]talking with children, parents, and teachers about the book. [00:44.48]Khan hopes Amina's story will help young readers understand [00:49.76]what it is like for a young Muslim girl to live in the United States. [00:56.08]Khan talked with VOA about her book. [00:59.60]"So I think it's really important through storytelling and through a character [01:03.16]that they can relate to and identify and see themselves in, [01:06.32]and realize that, 'Ok, this little girl Amina and her family [01:09.36]isn't as different from mine as I thought...and her community and her friends [01:13.92]and her family look very similar to mine.' And hopefully that helps develop [01:17.68]more understanding and more tolerance of Muslims." [01:20.84]Khan says that the media usually show negative actions of Muslims, [01:26.84]so people fear their Muslim neighbors. [01:30.68]The writer grew up near Washington, D.C. [01:33.76]and had problems with finding a balance [01:37.08]between being both Pakistani and American at the same time. [01:43.08]Khan remembers a friend who wanted to change her name [01:46.66]to one that sounded "more American." [01:50.08]Jeanette Collier is a teacher at a local Jewish school. [01:54.72]She plans to add the book to her school's library. [01:58.48]"Books are the second-best way for kids to learn about other people [02:03.72]and to gain empathy and understanding of other people who are different than they are. [02:08.12]Meeting those other people is the best way, [02:10.71]making friends and having conversations, but I think our biggest challenge [02:17.57]is getting the kids to read the books, because they go to what they know." [02:22.92]One of the young readers at the bookstore, Mia Endelman, [02:27.28]told VOA what she learned from the book. [02:30.68]"I kind of learned a little bit about Muslims, [02:33.62]like, I didn't know what Muslim churches, or a mosque, [02:38.97]I didn't know it was called that before." [02:41.44]"Amina's Voice" is the first book published by a new publishing company, Salaam Reads. [02:48.32]The name "Salaam" means "peace" in Arabic. [02:52.52]Hena Khan says that finding a publisher was difficult. [02:57.21]Now the book is part of a series. [03:00.48]It will show young readers "a wide variety of Muslim children and families [03:06.32]and offer Muslim kids an opportunity to see themselves" in positive stories. [03:14.64]Greater understanding between Americans of all religions [03:18.48]is a goal for both the writer and publisher. [03:22.64]"Amina's Voice" comes at a time of intense debate over issues such as immigration [03:29.14]and concerns over extremist speech targeting religious and ethnic groups. [03:36.68]I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM