It's Iimi! Can You Calm the Tempest?

For once, Iimi is not the target (for once), but Najiyah is furious about something. When she does something unexpected, the girls must ask themselves… Can You Calm the Tempest?

Post-Comic Notes:

Ramadan ends at sunset on April 9^th, 2024. Since Dubai is twelve hours ahead of Babylon, Bahrudin and Zara begin the comic with the end of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr), while the Muslim characters in Babylon still have to go through the final day of Ramadan to reach that point.

However, in the UAE, a Moon Sighting Committee determines the end of Ramadan. When creating this comic, there was a question as to whether the sunset could be observed on the expected date of April 9^th. If they could not, Ramadan would end on April 10^th. Sunset on April 9^th would be 6:38pm.

Since I can't create the comic at the last minute, I decided to begin the story on the evening of April 9^th at 6:38pm Dubai time. If it turns out that Eid al-Fitr was delayed a day, that's the reason for the inaccuracy.

To expand on the limited footnote space on page 15, In theory, Muslim men and women have equal rights to initiate divorce. However, interpretations of Islamic laws in certain Muslim countries mean men can divorce their wives unilaterally, while women must secure their husband's consent. Putting permission to divorce into the marriage contract is a sort of permission given by the husband before the marriage. Qatar is one of those countries requiring the husband's consent. This is what Najiyah is thinking about in Panel 1.

For those scandalized at Kismetta wishing Sumeja "Eid Mubarak," she's not acknowledging Islam as true. Kismetta simply wishes God's blessings on her mother on a day that is meaningful to her. Sumeja reciprocates with the same intentions.

The translations of the Arabic graffiti on the signs read (Assuming the translation app was accurate and the pasting wasn't flipped):

•      "Death to Israel."
•      "From the River to the Sea, Palestine is Arab!"

But remember that this is supposed to reflect offensive attitudes that Najiyah and Kismetta are embarrassed by. They don't represent the views of all Muslims, just as they don't represent the views of all Christians or Jews. Also, the "From the River to the Sea" line is a corruption of the original that began showing up in a few places when the current war began. The graffiti on the sign is meant to portray two groups of students feeding off each other and going too far... think the social media debates where certain extremists on both sides ratchet the rhetoric up to 11.

Najiyah originally did something more controversial to Iimi. However, I decided that, in 2024, people were unlikely to misunderstand the anime connotations and assume it had sexual intent. So, the art and script were changed to indicate that Najiyah planned something to shock, and then was unable to go through with it.