Out of many, one. And one-when that one is an enduring idea dedicated to the glory of Allah-is all it takes to move mountains…and pens! The Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA) is such a one; an assemblage of inspired Muslim women, united through word and action with the singular goal of promotion.

The members of the Alliance promote Islam, their own writings, and each other. They promote the past, present and future of Islamic literature at its finest. Moreover, they promote relying on Allah Most High while using the strength He provides to move any mountain between their pens and readers’ hands.

Formed in early 2004, the group is the brainchild of Linda (Widad) Delgado. “The business side of books is not glamorous…just hard work,” she says, having recently released the first four books in her Islamic Rose series. “Writers and published authors have a better chance of being successful and getting their work to either readers or publishers if they have a team behind them helping. In sha’ Allah, the Islamic Writers Alliance is that team!”

Each member of the IWA is certain her work will reach its destination, namely the bookshelves of a store near you. Networking is the mainstay of this group’s activities, attracting authors, writers, illustrators, publishers and distributors from around the world.

“I published a book on the hijab and wanted to expand its distribution outside Southeast Asia,” says Salinah Aliman, owner of Bridges Books, a publishing house in Singapore. “The Islamic Writers Alliance is a valuable platform for marketing my book and establishing global business contacts.”

Her sentiments are echoed by Umm Juwayriyah, Assistant Director of the IWA, whose aim is to touch the young, urban Muslim population. “The more help we can give one another, in sha’Allah, the more quality Islamic literature-non-fiction and fiction-will be published. The youth of Islam are in need of, and deserve to have, a selection of books that they can identify with.”

From A to Z.

The Alliance is an all-purpose resource for Muslim women, regardless of the genre, style, focus, volume, or level of their work. The IWA boasts an eclectic e-group with files and discussions covering a plethora of useful, relevant topics: grammar, breaking out of writer’s block, how-to submit contract-generating inquiries for publication, constructive critiques delivered with the best of manners…real answers from real writers with a real interest in helping. From A to Z-the development of writing, polishing, publishing, marketing and maintaining an international readership-the IWA champions those who put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

The e-group component is only the beginning. Once an author has a published work in hand, the Alliance kicks into high gear. Members purchase each other’s books and arrange to publicize them at every opportunity. Those opportunities include setting up author signings, approaching local businesses to carry the books, reserving and manning booths at Islamic fairs, conferences and events, crafting sell-sheets for distribution to the Alliance’s mailing lists, and spreading enthusiastic word of the books’ availability with reckless abandon.

The commitment and organization of this group is anything but reckless, however. With an extensive Web site (www.islamicwritersalliance.net), comprehensive and transparent guidelines-derived via members’ input and vote-plus a full complement of volunteer board members, the IWA is professionally run and solidly anchored on Islamic principles. These motivated and motivating women set a standard for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Pamela Taylor, Annual Fund Coordinator for ISNA and Secretary of the IWA states, “We must support our artists, our writers, our journalists, and our publishers. Hand in hand with that, we have to support our children, our youth, and our adult reading populace with entertaining, uplifting books. Christian fiction is a huge business. Muslim fiction should be, too.”

“Read, and thy Lord is Most Bountiful, Who teacheth by the pen that which man knew not.” (Holy Qur’an 96:3-5)

“Reading” is a command that members of the IWA do more than take to heart; they take it to the hearts of the smallest members of the Ummah, or Muslim community, by purchasing Islamic books for their school libraries across the United States.

Through donations, revenue generated by sponsorships and advertising, special projects, and voluntary membership fees-$10 annually, which can be waived for sisters in financial straits-the group devotes all proceeds, after paying the costs of the Alliance itself, towards inculcating a love of literature and knowledge in the next generation.

And what will those children read? Perhaps excerpts from the Alliance’s first project, an e-book of the original writings of its members. In an effort to provide unpublished writers a forum for publication, and all writers a showcase for their creativity, the IWA has begun to collect and arrange an anthology of the Muslim woman’s voice-and strength-for every reader to experience the beauty and diversity of Islam…and the alliance of Islamic writers.