Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Poverty and desperation almost drove Dinda to prostitution in her teenage years.

She needed the money for her destitute family neglected by a drunk and chronic gambler father. But she was saved from a cruel fate by her renewed faith in Islam. And to reaffirm her conviction, she decided to wear the Muslim headscarf or jilbab.

It's not exactly Booker Prize material, but themes of this kind sell well in Indonesia these days. Stories of teenagers besieged by family, school and peer problems, only to be rescued in the end by their religious conviction are the genre of the day.

They are simple, relevant, appealing and they even make parents feel better about their children's reading habits.

In the last three years, novels with strong Islamic undertones have carved out a niche for themselves and made good money for several publishing houses. Ask the founders of Asy-Syaamil Cipta Media, which three years ago practically created the genre.

When the company decided to expand from its graphic design business to publishing, bookstores had yet to put up separate shelves for Islamic fiction. But the company was inspired by An-Nida magazine, which features short stories and novellas with an Islamic theme for teenagers.

"We saw that An-Nida had its own segment, which we thought had growth potential so we went ahead," Mr Eka Wardhana, the company's Publishing Manager, told The Sunday Times.

Its first teenage novel Pinkan, the Warmth of Spring Sun soon sold out. Over 25,000 copies of the book have been sold since then – a relatively high figure for Indonesia's publishing industry.

The company has published over 30 titles ever since, most of them authored by local writers. Its success was soon followed by other publishers.

Mizan, which specialises in Islamic non-fiction books, eventually ventured into the realm. And giants such as Gunung Agung and even the Catholic-owned Gramedia publishing companies followed suit.

Mr Eka attributed the interests in Islamic literature to the revival of the religious awareness spread by Muslim campus activists in the 1980s. Although most of the books have been aimed at the young readers, the publishers are now eyeing mature readers with more sophisticated literary tastes.

One of the writers who have graduated to this level is the 32-year old Helvy Tiana Rosa, who has been called a pioneer in Islamic fiction.

Ms Helvy said getting the message across through her works was important to her. And to do this, no book should sound like religious propaganda. "We don't write to preach, but we'll be happy if our writings inspire and enlighten some of our readers."

Religious undertones

A prolific author with some 25 books under her belt, Ms Helvy Tiana Rosa is hailed as the pioneer of fiction with Islamic undertones. She began infusing Islamic values in her short stories in 1989 after she decided to wear the jilbab.

In 1997, she wrote her first teenage Islamic novel which sold 5,000 copies in a month. "I wasn't the first, there were predecessors way before my time, but at the time I wrote the novel, I was swimming against the current, which was then dominated by pop fiction series," she told The Sunday Times.

The recipient of several book awards, Ms Helvy wants to see more of writers like her in Indonesia. In 1997, she co-founded the Forum Lingkar Pena, which groups readers, writers and wannabes around the country.

The group organises workshops, trainings and regular meetings to encourage new writers. Of its 3,500 members, 500 have been published in local media.