Temple Folk

1. Blue BLUE
In the early hours before the dawn, the women of the Muslim Girls Training class stood single file on the sidewalk, waiting to board the Trailways charter bus headed to Chicago. A pair of streetlamps at the corner of Prospect and Main funneled soft light onto their frames-dressed in peacoats with long white skirts and headscarves that matched the light drift of snow. They inched along, moving toward the yellow-orange light that filtered a halo from the top half of the coach. Slowly, they ascended the steps and filed down the aisle to their seats. The others shivered, waiting outside, eager to get out of the cold, eager in the awareness that soon they were headed to the Saviours' Day celebration where they would behold the Messenger of the Lost-Found Nation-the maker of men and reformer of women-the seal of the prophets, up close and in person.

They were greeted at the top of the steps by the captain, Sister Lucinda. She was tall and handsome with café-au-lait skin, a commanding air, and bright, green eyes that looked softly upon the women as they passed. In the singsong voice of a grade-school teacher, she offered each one a greeting of "Salaam," checked her name from the list, and pointed to her assigned seat.

Where Sister Lucinda managed the entrance, Sister Memphis-her lieutenant-was positioned at the rear of the line. She had her hands folded behind her back and paced slow, observing the women. The MGT had their thoughts about her, but fearful of the consequences of exposing them in their rawest form-lest word travel back to Sister Memphis-they were careful to hide their gossip behind half-hearted concern, mostly about her appearance.

They couldn't be all the way sure but said that, from the look of her eyes, something had to be out of sorts with her health. Standing before them that early morning, they bulged uncomfortably as she scanned the women, examining them for undone shoelaces, strange odors, and buttons fastened in the wrong

Aaliyah Bilal was born and raised in Prince George's County, Maryland. She has degrees from Oberlin College and the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies. She's published stories and essays with The Michigan Quarterly Review and The Rumpus. Temple Folk is her first short story collection.

"Temple Folk is more than a special literary accomplishment, it is a gift of glorious songs. The people in the nation of Islam have not appeared very often in literature. Now, Aaliyah Bilal arrives with a splendid and grand collection of 10 stories that, with sensitivity and insight and skill, give us a world of people, our loved ones, and neighbors, who decided that life might be better in the nation. We have long needed these stories, these songs, and this gift should be praised from as many rooftops as possible." -Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Known World

"Obviously a student of history, and even more so, a student of the human heart, Aaliyah Bilal lays bare the interior lives of Black Muslims in these ten extraordinary stories. Across decades, generations, and continents, Bilal's finely wrought and unforgettable characters grapple with religion, culture, family, desire, and most compellingly, themselves. Every story was an eye-opener for me. Bilal is a gifted storyteller, and Temple Folk is quite simply a masterpiece." -Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Life of Church Ladies

"Aaliyah Bilal is a gifted storyteller who understands how to build a world that feels both particular in its contours and universal in the challenges, triumphs and yearnings of its characters. The stories that make up Temple Folk explore love, faith, loyalty and disillusionment while offering up gorgeous langauge and unforgettable imagery. Temple Folk feels like no collection I have read before and announces Bilal as a literary talent worth championing." -Angela Flournoy, Author of The Turner House

"A beautiful and vivid collection of stories. Aaliyah Bilal is the truth. Grateful for her voice in the world." -Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author

"Temple Folk is a remarkable debut that does many things at once. It opens the door to a people we barely know, yet opens