Balqees Mohammed: Editor, Writer & Consultant for Authors and Editors
Balqees Mohammed, founder and owner of The Writers' Consultant, is a free-lance writer, editor and published author residing in Saudi Arabia. She formed this company after realizing the need of people worldwide for editing services as well as help or advice concerning various projects entailing writing. As a convert to Islam from Christianity, she has insight into both worlds and religions, which is revealed many times in her writing.
Since 2005 she has written articles of Islamic Awareness for the monthly updating of the official website for a local chapter of the Islamic Propagation & Education Offices in her region, under the direct supervision of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Islamic Affairs. She has also done editing of many English-language manuscripts of publications for WAMY (The World Assembly of Muslim Youth), Muslim World League, as well as that of the Department of Translation of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs of Saudi Arabia.
She also serves as a consultant for these same organizations, reviewing possible manuscripts designed for publication, advising them of the viability of such books for distribution worldwide in addition to giving any necessary editorial comments for improvement of said manuscripts before going to print.
Her articles, as well as much other similar work and more helpful information about Islam and Muslims, can be viewed at the official website of the Islamic Center of Abha: www.islamunveiled.org, where she writes under the name Umm Muhammed or Om Mohammed. She also keeps a collection of these articles on Islamic Awareness at her blog: www.life-islam.blogspot.com.
As member and Secretary of IWA (Islamic Writers Alliance), she also has good connections to many others working in this same field, all with the same main goal of promoting literacy worldwide, with an emphasis on Islamic Literature. To learn more about this professional non-profit organization, which is based in the US but has an international membership, log onto: www.islamicwritersalliance.net.
-A short Islamic Fiction story “A Chance for Reward” and two poems “Love for Allah, for the Sake of Allah” and “A Balanced Balance”, which are published in the Islamic Anthology, Between Love, Hope and Fear, by An-Najm Publishers of UK, 2007 (www.an-najmpublishers.co.uk).
-Two short Islamic Fiction stories “Ta’ibah and the Ants” and “Troubled Waters Can Be Sailable”, which are published in the Islamic Fiction Anthology of the IWA, Many Voices, One Faith II-Islamic Fiction Stories, by Muslim Writers Publishing of US, 2009 (www.muslimwriterspublishing.com).
-Two poems “Faith Comparison” and “Hopeless”, which are published in the Islamic Poetry Anthology of the IWA, Many Poetic Voices, One Faith, by Muslim Writers Publishing of US, 2009 (www.muslimwriterspublishing.com).
-Feature article, titled “Timbuktu” for the Ramadan/Eid 1430/2009 edition of Iqra! – an Islamic newspaper published in Houston, Tx. The online edition can be viewed at: http://issuu.com/iqranewspaper/docs/iqra-ramadan1430
-Co-wrote several articles and did other rewrites as well as copy-editing of the Ramadan/Eid 1430/2009 edition of Iqra! Islamic newspaper. All can be viewed by logging onto: http://issuu.com/iqranewspaper/docs/iqra-ramadan1430.
-Authored a short Islamic fiction story titled “From Dan to Dawood”, published in the April, 2009 issue of Islamic Ink, the free online quarterly magazine showcasing the talent and news of IWA (Islamic Writers Alliance).
-Authored a book review, titled “Promoting Between Love, Hope and Fear”, published in the October, 2009 issue of Islamic Ink, the free online quarterly magazine showcasing the talent and news of IWA (Islamic Writers Alliance)
Detailed Editing Experience:
1. My Great Love for Jesus Led Me to Islam by Simon Alfredo Caraballo. Published by Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia-Translation Dept.
2. Back to the Quran by Abu Hurairah Abdalrahman. Published by The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia-Translation Dept.
3. Have You Discovered It’s Real Beauty? by Dr. Naji Ibrahim Al-Arfaj, published by Al-Ahsa Modern Press, K.F National Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 116 p., 18cm, ISBN: 9960-56-904-7/Legal Deposit No: 1427/6893/ISBN: 9960-9345-0-0 Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia-Translation Dept.
4. Is Allah Three or One? by Dr. Munqidh As-Saqqar, published by Muslim World League.
5. Become Acquainted With Islam by Dr. Munqidh As-Saqqar. Published by Muslim World League.
6. Women In Islam published by Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia-Translation Dept.
7. Human Rights in Islam published by Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia-Translation Dept.
8. A Guide for the New Muslim by: Dr. Jamal Al-Din Zarabozo, published by Muslim World League
9. What Is Islam? by Dr. Jamal Al-Din Zarabozo, published by Muslim World League.
10. A Concise Reply to Christianity: A Muslim’s View by: Dr. G. Miller (Abdulahad Omar) Ordinary Press, 1983, Ontario, Canada. (this work was done as a review before re-printing)
11. Jesus In the Quran and What Muhammad Said About Jesus, each by: Ali Shawkat, pbl: Kenanga Permai Sdn. Bhd, Malaysia, 2006. (this work was done as a review of these two books for recommended reading promotion)
12. Life is an Open Secret: You, Me & We by Zabrina A. Bakr of Malaysia.
13, Quraniyun (working title-editing finished, pending publication & printing), written by Emad Hamdeh.
14. Human Rights and Islam, by Dr. Jamal al-Din Zarabozo, published by Muslim World League and Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia, Department of Translation.
15. Did some editing and consultation (2009) for post-graduate students’ (students working on their masters degree) term reports.
16. Worked (2009) as editor and consultant for a Saudi student working on his masters’ thesis in English language studies, concentrating on the theme of social interaction of initial meeting greetings.
*On all of the above mentioned works, I did a complete editing job on each manuscript before it was sent to print, editing for spelling mistakes, typos, general English language rules, as well as correct Islamic content when necessary or applicable, including the numerical references for the quotes.
Concerning the following works, I was requested by the Translation Department of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Islamic Affairs to review and give my thoughts/advice as to possible benefit from reprint and distribution:
1. Bearing True Witness by Laurence B. Brown, MD, Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Riyadh, 2005 ISBN: 9960-732-36-3 L.D. no. 1426/849
2. The Eighth Scrollby Laurence B. Brown, MD, Copyright 2007 Dr. Laurence B. Brown ISBN: 1-4196-7323-8 ISBN-13: 978-1419673238 2007
3. MisGod'edby Laurence B. Brown, MD. BookSurge Publishing, February 22, 2008; ISBN-10: 1419681486 ISBN-13: 978-1419681486
4. God'edby Laurence B. Brown, MD. BookSurge Publishing, February 22, 2008; ISBN-10: 1419684604ISBN-13: 978-1419684609
5. Muhammed Man and Prophet: A Complete Study of the Life of the Prophet of Islamby Adil Salahi, Published by: The Islamic Foundation, UK; ISBN: 0-86037-327-4
Current Editing Projects:
1. A novel(no title yet)by Javed Ali. It centers around the tragic genocide that took place in Bosnia during the revolution which eventually resulted in the breaking up of the Yugoslav region into separate states. Pending publication and printng
2. Rites and Selected Etiquettes for Intending Performers of Hajj and ‘Umra and Visitor (working title), by Abdullah ibn Sa’id ibn Jarrash, published by Darussalam, pending final publication and printing, after completion of editing and corrections applied. This work entails comparing the English translation from the original Arabic work, making necessary corrections in the area of the translation as well as main editing of grammar, spelling and punctuation (basic copy-editing as well as translating). It also entails ensuring correctness of quotations from the Quran and hadith, and their reference numberings as well as that of other references used. The work is currently 134 pages.
