By Yoginder Sikand

 Established in 1996, Delhi-based Goodword Books has emerged as one of India's leading Islamic publishing houses. Founded by Saniyasnain Khan, son of the well-known Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, it has brought out more than 400 titles so far, in Urdu, English and Hindi.

Many of the books that Goodword has published have been penned by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, who is recognized as a leading Islamic scholar at the global level, and certainly among the most prolific. The Maulana began his monthly journal, Al-Risala, in 1976. Al-Risala is being published regularly for over two decades, representing a voluminous corpus of literature geared to relating Islam to issues such as spirituality, religion, ideology of peace, prophet's biography, communal harmony and women's rights. The Maulana's widely-read monthly Al-Risala is still published, in both Urdu and English, although his books are now produced by Goodword.

Besides the Maulana's books, Goodword specializes in a new genre of Islamic children's literature in English, of which some 100 titles have been brought out so far. Many of these have been written by Saniyasnain Khan himself, and consist of stories from the Quran and other Islamic themes, with bright and attractive cartoons and illustrations, making them both informative as well as fun to read. In addition, Goodword Books have produced a series of illustrated and easy-to-follow textbooks for Islamic Studies in English, and set of books on Arabic learning entitled Madinah Arabic which are used in several Muslim schools in India and abroad. It has also published colouring books and several board games and puzzles that seek to teach young children the basics of their faith the fun way. The illustrations used in these books and games are done by noted Delhi-based artist Gurmeet  Singh.

'The idea of launching Goodword Books struck me after several visits to America and Europe, where I accompanied my father on lecture tours', explains the unassuming Saniyasnain Khan, who holds a Master's degree in Arabic from Delhi University. 'There, I came across very innovative and attractive Islamic books designed for children, and I thought we needed the same in India as well'. Goodword have since broadened their focus. 'We are particularly interested in reaching out to non-Muslims to explain to them what Islam really is. 'We regard this, what we call dawah, or inviting others to Islam, as our mission', Khan says. This task is particularly urgent today, given mounting Islamophobia globally. 'Our task is simply to present the true Islamic perspective', Khan adds. 'We are trying to create a missionary spirit among Muslims, so that they can relate to others through love and peace and tell them about Islam,' he stresses.

 Saniyasnain Khan at the Islamic Arts Museum, Kuala Lumpur

In order to reach out to non-Muslims, Goodword has rendered Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's Urdu translation of the Quran into Hindi and English as well, and has made them available at the easily affordable price of 20 rupees a copy. Hindi and English versions of the Maulana's Quranic commentary, Tazkirul Quran, are due to be published soon. Unlike many other Islamic publishers, Goodword Books publications are also available in several 'mainstream' bookshops in India and abroad. And in order to reach a larger audience, including non-Muslim readers, Goodword regularly participates in book fairs across India and in Western Europe, North America and South Africa. 'We recently participated in the Nepal book fair. Many people almost all non-Muslims, bought copies of the Quran from our stall', Khan says. The firm's recently-launched website www.goodwordbooks.com has enabled it to reach a far wider audience. 'Several of our publications have been translated into other languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and even Sindhi, Turkish and Uzbek, French, Arabic etc.'

The average Indian Muslim family may perhaps find Goodword Books' publications slightly on the higher side, but Khan says that his books must necessarily be priced that way in order to maintain the high quality of printing that he insists on. 'I agree that most of our customers are middle or upper middle class families. But they, too, need a genre of Islamic literature that addresses their concerns', he stresses. At the same time, he says, Muslim publishers who cater to a more mass-based readership must also focus on trying to produce more relevant literature. 'For instance', he suggests, 'a venture worth pursuing is producing textbooks for teaching English meant specifically for madrasa students. At present, the few madrasas in India that teach English use books that are written with a completely different sort of student in mind – children from well-off and Westernised families'.

Clearly, one factor that explains the high standards of Goodword Books' publications and the effort these represent to develop a more relevant and contextual understanding of Islam is Khan's own family background. Khan's father, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, is an acclaimed writer. Khan's sister, Dr. Farida Khanum, teaches Islamic Studies at the Jamia Millia, New Delhi. His elder brother, Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, is the author of numerous books and is the editor of one of India's few Muslim magazines in English, the fortnightly Milli Gazette. The family's intellectual tradition stands in marked contrast to owners of many other Indian Islamic publishing houses, accounting, in large measure, for the novelty in Islamic publishing that Goodword represents.

.

Goodword Books' example is one that other Indian Muslim publishing houses can profit from. I suggest to Khan that he should organize workshops for other Muslim publishing firms, to help familiarize them with new printing technologies, broaden their distribution networks and produce more relevant Islamic literature on themes of contemporary concern, including books aimed at a non-Muslim audience, addressing, in particular, the questions they might have about Islam. 'Yes, that's certainly a good idea', he answers demurely.

Khan hands me a set of audio and video CDs as a gift as I get up to leave. These are Goodword's latest productions – lectures by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, seeking to relate Islam to a host of issues of contemporary import. Khan tells me about his father's daily studio recordings, and his weekly lectures that are open to the public, which are now being recorded and will probably be broadcast on numerous television channels in India and abroad. I discover that the Maulana is 82, and marvel at his zeal, although one may not necessarily agree with everything that he says. And I marvel, too, at the dedication of the Goodword team that he has helped spawned.