Temple Folk is Bila’s debut fiction novel that explores the experiences of Black Muslims in the USA and how they manage to resist the influence of the Western culture on their religion, political affiliations, sexuality and ethnicity. Temple Folk has ten short stories about the consistency of Black Muslims in the USA to maintain their Muslim culture and other critical aspects of their lives.
In “Due North”, a young girl tries to comprehend why her late father’s spirit haunts her. Taqwa is tasked with writing her father's tribute before the burial, which seems a difficult obligation for her. Taqwa’s father was a dedicated Muslim and an Imam, aspects that she tries to compile conclusively before writing the eulogy. Taqwa stays awake all night trying to compile the eulogy the night before the burial, but the morning kicks in before she even writes a quarter of her father’s tribute. The next story, “Who’s Down,” is about a father and his daughter's scheme to order a vegetarian man a twofold cheeseburger after having a succinct affair with him. The other story, “Candy for Hanif,” talks about Sister Norah's relationship with her disabled son. The mother habitually goes to the store to buy his son various items. After her husband’s death, Sister Norah does her best to raise her son according to Muslim traditions.
In “Woman Niqab,” a suspicion of a father’s infidelity compels his daughter to expose her hair in public, which goes against the doctrines of Muslim traditions. Still, she later learns her mistake the hard way. In “New Mexico,” the narrator explains how the authorities use their power to spy on Islam's leadership and the country's plans. For instance, a Federal Reserve officer secretly follows a top leader in Nation Islam to know his plans. The authorities want to use this information to suppress the Islamic leadership, but they do not succeed in their mission. “In That Moment” and the rest of the stories show Islam's tribulations in the USA and how Black Muslims resist any attempt to alter their faith.
In conclusion, most of the stories in Temple Folk have a similar structure. For instance, first-person narrative stories tend to have similar messages and approaches to issues. More importantly, Aaliyah Bilal shows readers that a society can have ethical letdowns, but these breakdowns make people understand their purpose.
