US Muslim Children Get First Cultural Doll

NEW JERSEY – A new doll for Muslim children has hit the shelves in the US, filling a gap in the market and helping young Muslims better understand their faith.

“The Islamic faith doesn’t have any type of product like Mensch on a Bench or Elf on a Shelf,” Danny Shakoj, the creator of Imam Adam doll, told NBC News on Thursday, July 20.

“I began thinking, ‘what’s an easy way for children to learn about Islam?’”

Shakoj is born to Circassian Muslims who immigrated from Southern Russia.

Growing up in New Jersey, he recalled that there were not many cultural toys or books that reflected his experiences or upbringing.

“We celebrated all of the holidays, we fasted for Ramadan,” he said. “But we didn’t have much for kids to spark much conversation with kids.”

Therefore, he worked to create “Adventures of Imam Adam,” a new children’s book he wrote with illustrations by artist Necdet Yilmaz.

The book is geared toward children ages 3 and up and follows a Muslim faith leader as he attempts to make the pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah.

The companion plush doll wears traditional Islamic clothing and carries a green backpack with a folded green prayer rug inside.

“A lot of times, religious figures are scary to children. So he’s a young imam going through different adventures to go to Hajj,” Shakoj explained.

“He lives in a diversified neighborhood, he plays soccer, he makes his way across a broken bridge and has to deal with crocodiles.”

In the book, Imam Adam uses the five pillars of Islam to solve problems. “It touches on things like charity and being kind to the environment,” he said.

“There’s no fun way to teach Islam [right now],” he said, recalling his talks with his young cousins while writing the book.

“I showed it to them as I was developing the product and I would just go to Barnes and Noble and just show moms and kids the doll to get their opinion. It was really great feedback.”

While “Adventures of Imam Adam” is primarily targeted towards Muslim-American families, Shakoj said he hopes children of all faiths can relate to Adam’s adventures and journey.

“Adam is a universal name, in the Islamic faith he’s the first man, just as he is in Judaism and Christianity,” he noted.

“I wanted to touch upon something that hopefully could spark conversations among people of different faiths.”