ENG10002 English For Academic Purposes

Most Western narratives portray the distorted images and fabricated opinions of the Islamic faith and Muslims (Shadid & Koningsveld, 2002, 174-96).  The negative attitude towards Islam is largely formed due to the stereotypes and prejudice. The motive behind such practice is to make a distinction between the ‘we’ and the ‘them’, we being the majority Western population and the being the Muslim minority population (Schønemann, 2013, 4). The ‘we’ and ‘them’ propaganda makes the people to view Muslims as not of their own and thereby promoting their exclusion from the society. Commonly, stereotype is considered as a fixed opinion or depiction that majority of the people have of a specific entity such as religion, however, it is often false in reality. In Sociology, stereotype is defined as an exaggerated and frequently prejudiced image of a group of people on the basis of little or no evidence and is resistant to change by evidence (Petkova & Lehtonen, 2005, 63). It must be understood that stereotypes and prejudice filter the observation and understanding of the behavior of others and simultaneously form self-fulfilling prophecies. In simpler terms, it means that under the influence of prejudice, people view the behavior of other as what they expect to see on the basis of their prejudice. It inevitably results in developing wrongful predictions regarding the behavior of members of that group. The wrongful presentation of Islam in the Western World through the Western literature initiates adverse influence in the intercultural associations between the parties.

There are a range of novels that misrepresent, such as V.S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief, Don delillo’s Falling Man, and John Updike’s The Terrorist (Alireza & Abolfaz, 2015, 1-13). .

Most of these novels misrepresent Islamic faith and Muslim population by suggesting that Islam supports terrorism. These explain the psychological, economic, political, cultural ,and religious realities that may underpin terrorism in Islam. They further suggest that Muslims are violent by dehumanizing and marginalizing them so that they could be labeled as terrorist. Overall, these novels account Islam as a backward and misogynist faith and Muslim women as oppressed victims in Islam due to compulsion of hijab, polygamy, etc. Usually, these novels are based more on stereotyping instead of scientific evidence. 

On the other hand, there are a range of novels by several authors which defend Islam , such as Leila Aboulela’s The Translator, Monica Ali’s  Brick Lane, and Umm

Islamic faith and Muslims are represented in these novels several ways by correctly deliberating on the issues of religiosity, fundamentalism, terrorism, homosexuality and women issues. Most of these novels clearly explore the commitment of Muslim characters with the sacred through Islamic customs and practices. The focus on the significance of these practices to them is to show that the Islamic spiritual experiences are similar to those of individuals of other faiths.

Islamic faith and Muslims are portrayed in a  negative light constantly as a propaganda against Islam through numerous channels including Western literature and media since the time of crusades and it worsened post 9/11. In the pre-9/11 era, it was reported by the Time Magazine that more than 60,000 books have been penned down against Islam (Ansari, 2012). During the Iranian Revolution, in 1979, Ayatullah Ruhullah Khomeni was set on throne after winning over pro-western king Reza Shah Pahlavi (Patrikarakos, 2009). Due to the revolution the Western nations lost power over huge oil sources (Patrikarakos, 2009). This incident led to an anti-Islamic hysteria in the West and made Islam a topic of interest and phobia.

The theory of Orientalism was given by Edward Said and is based on the interplay between the “Occident” and the “Orient.” The Occident (self) is the word given to the West, and the Orient is the word given to the misinterpreted Middle East and Islam (Said, 1978). As Edward Said, the West has built a contradiction, between the reality of the East and the romantic idea of the “Orient” (Said E. , 1981). He informed that the Islamic faith and Muslim people are seen with prejudice and racism (Said E. , 1981). These regions are backward and not aware of their own history and culture. By taking advantage of the unawareness, the West has built a culture, history, and future promise for them. Said argues that the entire Western European and American research, literature, and cultural representation develops and strengthens prejudice against non-Western cultures, placing them in the category of Oriental (or “Others”) ( citation needed). As per Said’s Orientalism theory, this Orient vs. Occident is a power relationship in which Occident uses different means to use and interpret the Orient as per their own terms (Moosavinia, Niazi, & Ghaforian, 2011, 103-113).

For the misrepresentation of Islam, Said’s theory is particularly illuminating. As in this situation West has regarded the Muslims as “other” people, people not like us, people who have bizarre norms and standeards thereby the inferior ones. Islamic misrepresentation through Western literature shows that Orientalism is still relevant. Islam is misunderstood and distorted when the prejudicial connotations of the past are not challenged. The research and study of religion, language and culture conducted in the West on Islam, has not encouraged an improved understanding of Islam. There is a great ignorance about the reality which allows the fostering of this inaccurate and stereotyped depiction. Awareness of this “Orientalism” is an important first step. Said’s assertion in Orientalism is that the West has an extended history of intentionally misunderstanding the Islamic faith and the Western vision of Islam and Muslims has little to no similarity to the reality. In the introduction of the revised edition of Said’s book, “Covering Islam”, Said stated that, “Indeed Islam’s role in hijackings and terrorism, descriptions of the way in which overtly Muslim Countries like Iran threatens “us” and our way of life, and speculations about the latest conspiracy to blow up buildings, sabotage commercial airliners, and poison water supplies to play increasingly on Western consciousness”.   (Said E. , Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world, 1997).

Umm Zakiyyah’s If I Should Speak is a counter narrative to the clichés about Islam. The first book of the Umm Zakiyyah’s trilogy is If I Should Speak which has Tamika Douglass, Aminah Ali and Durrah ‘Dee’ Gonzalez as the central characters. In a range of their dialogues, the values of Islamic da’wah are seen. Various Western texts frequently exploit the term jihad to validate Muslims as the suspects of terrorism such as in the book Prayers for the assassin Robert ferrigno in which it was suggested that Islam teaches its devotees to do holy war against people of other faiths. Another book which suggested that Islam encourages terrorism is John Updike’s Terrorist. Various texts use the term Jihad to illustrate terrorism and thereby labeling Islam as a religion of violence. But in Umm Zakiyyah’s novel, she clarifies the correct meaning of jihad in Islam as explained in the following dialogue: 

“So what is jihad then?” Tamika asked.  “Well,” Aminah replied, “in Islam, it’s similar to that. Just like America does not tolerate oppression in the world and at times goes to help those who are oppressed, Muslims are not allowed to permit people to be oppressed. And when the oppression occurs, Muslims must defend and help the oppressed. These are the two types of jihad, the first being when Muslims fight to help people who are being oppressed, like America does at times, and the second being when Muslims defend themselves from attack.”“Harming the innocent is not something taken lightly in our religion.” She continued, “Terrorism is not allowed in Islam whatsoever, and whoever does take part in it, no matter what religion they claim to be a part of, is risking punishment in the Hereafter for that grave sin.” (Zakiyyah, 2000, 110)

The previous dialogue in her novel illuminates that jihad is taught in Islam to safeguard the peace from things that could harm it. If a situation of intolerable oppression occurs, Islam instructs its devotees to help the oppressed, and in situations where Muslims are oppressed they must protect themselves from the oppressor. Therefore, world peace can only be maintained when jihad is taught and practiced as people can live in peace when they are not oppressed in any form. Further, while being an oppressed they should safeguard themselves to get their rights as human. ( a verse from quran is needed to be quoted). So, while various Western texts have portrayed jihad as a form of terrorism, it’s exactly opposite and Umm Zakiyyah explains this correct concept of jihad in Islam.

Another targeted issue by Western literature is the practice of polygamy by Muslims. Western literature portrays the allowance of keeping four wives in Islam as oppression and objectification of woman and depicts the Muslim man as a sexual creature. But Umm Zakiyyah clarifies the misconception on that in her novels. Umm Zakiyyah’s third novel in the trilogy entitled the Footsteps clarifies the concept of polygamy and elucidates its benefits over harm. She explains that polygamy is not mandatory; it is just allowed, which means that if an individual is not willing to do it, then he does not have to. Likewise, if a woman is unwilling to marry into a polygamous relationship, she does not have to. The permissibility is granted for those who choose it. She also explains the benefits of polygamy such as a chance to have more children, safeguarding rights of women by entering into holy matrimony as they aren’t fated to be mistresses or equals without the man having any kind of responsibility towards those women as in polygamy he has to provide them and treat them justly (Zakiyyah, 2007).

Almost all of the Western nations have targeted the Islamic ritual of veil or hijab as oppressing for women and dangerous for others. Western literature and media have criticized this Islamic ritual practiced by Muslim women so much that various countries have banned  the covering of faces ( citation needed). The novel named, The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran, is a memoir of an Iranian journalist, Masih Alinejad who was in exile about leaving her country. This book challenging tradition and sparked a digital reform against compulsory hijab (Alinejad, 2018). Umm Zakiyyah in her first novel explains the details of hijab along with the reasoning to wear it through the following dialogues.

“So you don’t think that’s extreme?” “To cover your face?”“Yeah.”“No,” Aminah replied emphatically, shaking her head. “I think it’s the best thing for a woman. I don’t think it’s extreme at all. It reduces a lot of problems.”“You think so?”“Of course. I mean, I’ve even had guys come up and tell me that I’m pretty and I’d look better if I ‘took off all of those big clothes.’”

“Really?” “Yeah, and it gets me thinking maybe I should go ahead and cover.”

“Why, because of how you look?”“No,” she clarified, “for my own comfort and protection.” Tamika wrinkled her nose. “You don’t mind walking around in all of those clothes?”“No.”“Even in the summer?” She found that hard to believe. Aminah shook her head. “But won’t you get hot?” “Do you get hot in the summer?” she inquired. “Yeah!” Tamika told her. “Well, I’m sure it’s not too much different,” Aminah commented. “And you’re wearing shorts, and you’re still hot.” She laughed. “If it’s hot, it’s hot.”“All those clothes make you hotter though,” Tamika argued.

“Actually,” Aminah corrected, “all those clothes make me cooler.” Tamika stared at her as if she were crazy. “You’re hotter uncovered in the sun,” Aminah told her, smiling. “You don’t find people in the desert protecting themselves from the heat by taking clothes off,” she reminded. “You find them putting clothes on. Besides,” she continued, “even in America, you see people with umbrellas to protect them from the sun, and people put on sunscreen, don’t they?” “Yeah, that’s true.”“Well,” she said with satisfaction, “my clothes are my sunscreen.” (Zakiyyah, 2000, 112-113).

While, the Western literature has persistently depicted hijab as a symbol of oppression against Muslim women, this clearly shows that women who wear hijab are not oppressed, instead they feel liberated, safe and protected. Further, it is a case of stereotyping again as the Christianity and Judaism faiths also teaches the practice of veil.

Apart from the practice of veil, Western literature has portrayed Muslim women as oppressed in Islam in general. It has been said again and again that Muslim men oppress Muslim women. For example, V. S. Naipaul in his novel  ,Beyond Belief ,offers a picture in which mosques, the adhan, Islamic literature, dress and households integrate to build an oppressive atmosphere which is difficult to breathe in(Hassan, 2013, 48-58).  But Umm Zakiyyah again clarifies that it is also a case of prejudice and stereotyping through following dialogues.

 “Don’t the Muslim men oppress their women?” Tamika now asked it carefully, as if she wanted to know, having realized how the original statement must have sounded to Aminah. “Before I answer that, let me ask you something…Do Christian men oppress women?” “Some,” she replied impatiently. “Do Jewish men oppress women?” She sighed. “Some.” “Do atheist men oppress women… “Do Muslim men oppress women?” She nodded. “Yes, some do. Just like other men. But,” she said, emphasizing, “if your question is, does Islam tell them to? Then the answer is no. And quite the contrary.” Tamika nodded, understanding, embarrassed because she had not thought of the obvious herself, suddenly feeling like a bigot, her ignorance too apparent to hide (Zakiyyah, 2000, 133).

Through this dialogue, Umm Zakiyyah portrays that Men may oppress women from different religions. But again Islam is targeted for propagating oppression of women as if Muslim men are oppressing their women because Islam commands them to. On the contrary, Islam propagates provision of love and respect to women. In Qura’an, 4;19, it is said that, “O you who believe! It is not permitted for you to inherit women against their will. And do not coerce them in order to take away some of what you had given them, unless they commit a proven adultery. And live with them in kindness. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike something in which God has placed much good”.

Western literature for the past few centuries has been portraying Islam in bad light using the issues of certain Islamic rituals and practices such as polygamy, jihad, hijab and oppression of women. In fact, the majority of these texts are based on prejudicial rather than empirical research on true Islam. There are innumerable novels that misrepresent Islam pre and post 9/11. But there are several examples of novel which defend Islam. Among those is Umm Zakiyyah’s trilogy If I Should Speak. The trilogy uncovers the true concepts of Islam by giving a clarification on the debated topics. Therefore, it can be said that by portraying the correct and authentic information of Islamic faith and the reasoning’s, the trilogy of Umm Zakiyyah uncovers true Islam.

Alireza, A., & Abolfaz, K. (2015). Representation of Islam in Post 9/11 English Novels. Research Journal of Language, Literature and Humanities, 2(8), 1-13.

Alinejad, M. (2018). The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran. Little, Brown and Company.

Ansari, N. A. (2012, December 3). Propaganda against Islam: 60,000 books published after WW II. Retrieved from The Milli Gazette: https://www.milligazette.com/news/4610-propaganda-against-islam-60-000-books-published-after-ww-ii

Faruqi, S. (2017, December 29). Top 10 Books About Muslims And Islam. Retrieved from Huffpost: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/saadia-faruqi/top-10-books-about-muslim_b_13872346.html

Hassan, A. M. (2013). Islam in V.S. Naipaul?s Beyond Belief: Viewed from an Erroneous Perspective. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 17(2), 48-58.

Moosavinia, Niazi, & Ghaforian. (2011). Edward Said’s Orientalism and the Study of the Self and the Other in Orwell’s Burmese Days. STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE, 2(1), 103-113.

Patrikarakos, D. (2009, February 7). The last days of Iran under the Shah. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/509f5672-f261-11dd-9678-0000779fd2ac

Petkova, D., & Lehtonen, J. (2005). CULTURAL IDENTITY IN AN INTERCULTURAL CONTEXT. University of Jyväskylä.

Ridouani, D. (2011). The Representation of Arabs and Muslims in Western Media . 

Said, E. (1978). Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. England: Clays Ltd.

Said, E. (1981). Covering Islam. New York: Pantheon Books.

Said, E. (1997). Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world. USA: Vintage.

Schønemann, J. (2013). The Stereotyping of Muslims: An Analysis of The New York Times’ and The Washington Times’ Coverage of Veiling and the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy. University of Oslo.

Shadid, W., & Koningsveld, P. v. (2002). The Negative Image of Islam and Muslims in the West: Causes and Solutions. In Religious Freedom and the Neutrality of the State: The Position of Islam in the European Union (pp. 174-196).

Zakiyyah, U. (2000). If I Should Speak. College Park, M.D: Al-Walaa Publications.

 Zakiyyah, U. (2007). Footsteps . Al-Walaa Publications.