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Abir Safa is a Detroit raised spoken word artist of five years. She began performing her work in 2012; performing in various events and centers across the state. Abir has performed her work in the US, UK, & Africa. She published her first book of poetry in July 2015, titled ‘The Sanctuary of Love’. Abir is currently working on her second upcoming book titled, “All She Spoke”.

In the past, her work expressed love and gratitude towards religion, particularly the household of the Prophet (saw). She now has extended her work to contemporary issues relevant to all people of all faiths, beliefs, and backgrounds.

Growing up with literature that does not ‘call my name’, left an unprivileged feeling that grew on me. As a child, it made me feel alone, unheard, and unworthy to society. But as I grew older, I realized the importance of calling your own name, and even more so, to yell it at the top of your lungs! And so, here is my call to society. My name is Sahar Jaber, I was born in Ontario, Canada, and raised by immigrant parents from Lebanon. Who like most immigrant parents, sacrificed everything in order to provide their children with privleged experiences they could never have had. For me, my life journey really started at the age of 8 years old. I woke up one schoolday and decided that today was going to be my first day I’ll wear the Hijab. Unfortunately, though, this impulsive decision was out of love and appreciation towards my religion, rather than from consciousness and knowledge. Yet, at such a young age, what hurt me the most about wearing the hijab was how foreign I felt to the world around me. My third-grade teacher used to bring us to the library, where we had an hour to choose and read a book silently. At those times, I used to go through countless library books, searching to find any Muslim protagonist on the cover photo. Unfortunately, when I would inevitably not find any character I could relate to, I used to imagine that this character was just like me. Imagine that she wore the hijab, and had to do Muslim practices between her adventures. My only wish as a child was to find a book that I could identify with and learn from. Sadly, throughout my education there were none. As I grew older, I decided to pursue my secondary education in a Catholic Secondary School, St. Jean de Brebeuf. My decision for this was because I strongly believed in the importance of a religious foundation. However, throughout my high school education, I was challenged with difficult questions from my classmates and teachers regarding my beliefs and appearance. Questions I knew that I did not have the resource to answer or was prepared for. However, what I did know was that I had the ultimate belief that I will pursue my education and answer them. I decided to pursue my university studies in Sociology and Communications at McMaster University. At which point in my life I was interchangeably working as a private English school teacher and customer service representative to pay my student loans. Shortly after graduating, I married my childhood best friend and decided to pursue my education in Islamic Jurisprudence in Lebanon. After two years of marriage, my husband and I welcomed our most cherished blessing, our son Hussein. But just like my parents, I knew I wanted to provide my child with every opportunity that I was not provided with, which was a voice in children’s literature. My whole life I had grown up without any literature to speak for me. Without a book to illustrate and demonstrate the life of a Muslim child or their struggles on a day to day basis. I was not going to allow that same reality for my child. That is why I pursed and worked tirelessly to start Figs and Olives Publications. A publishing company that aims to provide a voice for those millions of children and adults that feel unheard. To answer difficult questions that we do not have the proper resources to answer. And to make sure that all information given to these families is reliable, safe, and educational. My whole life had been about searching for an opportunity to be accepted in society. But enough is enough. A voice for those whose names are not called of in books must be called. And Figs and Olives Publications aims to provide that.

The Children’s Shia Author Adding innovation and creativity in learning about Islam & the Holy Ahlulbayt (as)

Abir Safa is a Detroit raised spoken word artist of five years. She began performing her work in 2012; performing in various events and centers across the state. Abir has performed her work in the US, UK, & Africa. She published her first book of poetry in July 2015, titled ‘The Sanctuary of Love’. Abir is currently working on her second upcoming book titled, “All She Spoke”.

In the past, her work expressed love and gratitude towards religion, particularly the household of the Prophet (saw). She now has extended her work to contemporary issues relevant to all people of all faiths, beliefs, and backgrounds.