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During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, 11-year-old Sofia Chaudrey began entering online art competitions and noticed a lack of opportunities centered around Islamic themes. So she created one.
She launched a website with the help of her parents and a web developer. Her idea eventually evolved into Islamic Art Expressions, a nonprofit organization that holds annual art competitions centered on Islamic themes.
“Since then, each year we’ve been able to do our art competition, which is open to all students, not just Muslim kids,” said Chaudrey, now 16. “I was really able to give other kids out there the opportunity that I never had, which in its way is more rewarding for me.”
Chaudrey, who lives in Winchester and is a junior at Phillips Exeter Academy, decided to align the contest with Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It is considered the holiest month in Islam, marked by fasting from dawn to sunset, prayer, reflection and acts of charity.
“Each of our competitions does happen during the month of Ramadan,” Chaudrey said. “That’s a time when Muslims really make an effort to reflect on our religion, reflect on our community, reflect on our history. We really made an effort to give kids the opportunity to do that while they’re fasting and spending time with their families and learning more about their religion during this whole month.”
The contest is split into age categories, with different themes each year. The theme for kindergarten to second grade is birds from the Quran. Students in third to fifth grade are invited to draw a scene outside the Cave of Thawr (Ghar-e-Soor), depicting spider webs and pigeon nests. This story in the Quran depicts the Prophet Muhammad hiding in a cave, with the help of animals.
“Art really is a universal medium, and it can be really powerful to see how each of the kids interprets it,” Chaudrey said. “We want to keep it based on the theme of reflection and expression during Ramadan, but also something that can be grounded and really expressed through art.”
This year, the theme for sixth through eighth grade is to draw yourself practicing a Sunnah — an action or tradition of the Prophet, such as helping others, praying, showing kindness or caring for the environment. The theme for 9th through 12th grade is to draw a depiction of Jannah, or Heaven.
Humzah Farooq, a junior at Hershey High School in Pennsylvania, has been participating in the contest since 2020. He said making time for his faith, which is a deeply personal part of his life, is very important to him.
“Being able to participate in this competition, it allows me to kind of reflect on my religion itself, the beauty of it, what it means to me, and how I can further apply it into my life,” Farooq said.
After placing second in his age category last year, Farooq said he is excited to finish his piece on Jannah.
“In Islam, we are taught that our physical life, on earth here, it is only a minute part of our existence,” Farooq said. “And life in the hereafter, Jannah, that is gonna be infinitely longer than what we have now. And I think trying to represent that and its magnitude will be very difficult for me, but it'll put life, I guess, or the concept I would say, into more perspective.”
In 2020, the U.S. Census estimated there are approximately 4.5 million Muslims
living in America — a diverse population that continues to grow. Islam is now the third largest religion in the U.S. after Christianity and Judaism.
Haroon Chaudrey, Sophia’s father and president of IAE, said he was skeptical about the idea at first, but is incredibly proud of what the organization has grown into. He said his title is honorary, since Sophia is under 18.
“The competition has grown in the sense that we have seen maturity in the art and the drawings,” he said. “Each year, we have seen that it’s becoming a little bit serious, the competition. Kids are doing more and more, better and better work.”
Chaudrey said she hopes to expand the organization globally and create more contest categories, like music and calligraphy.
“We have also been discussing the possibility of opening it up beyond the U.S., because right now, when I was just starting out, I wasn’t really sure how this would be received or how far I’d be able to take it,” she said. “I’m really proud of how far it’s come, and I’m really happy with the support that’s been received.”
All entries can be submitted online at submit@islamicexpressions.org. The deadline for entries is April 30, and winners will be announced May 14. Prizes include art supplies, gift cards and other gifts. More information can be found on IAE’s website.
This story is part of a partnership between The Winchester News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
