Asma Nadia

Asmarani Rosalba (born 26 March 1972), better known by her pen name Asma Nadia, is an Indonesian writer best known for her novels with Islamic themes. Born in Jakarta, she began writing in elementary school, with her first story published during her studies at the Bogor Agricultural Institute in Bogor. She published her first books in 2000, with her short story collection Rembulan di Mata Ibu (The Moon In Mother's Eyes, 2000) winning an Adikarya IKAPI Award. Since then, she has published more than 70 books, including the novels Surga yang Tak Dirindukan (An Unyearned Heaven) and Assalamualaikum Beijing!, as well as the anthology The Jilbab Traveller (2012). She is a co-founder of Forum Lingkar Pena, a writers' collective that focuses on Islamic themes, and has established more than a hundred libraries. Nadia's works have been extensively adapted to film, beginning with Emak Ingin Naik Haji (Mother Wants to Go on Hajj) in 2009; works have also been adapted to television and comic. Nadia has appeared in and produced several films. She considers her output part of dakwah (proselytization). She also states that it aims to counter what she perceives to be the sexualization of women and spread of vulgar content in popular media.