Download or read book Islam and its Reflection in Contemporary British Literature A Course Book written by Matthias Dickert and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2015-05-04 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific Essay from the year 2015 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, Comenius University in Bratislava, language: English, abstract: The key position of Muslim writers in the contemporary English speaking novel is undoubted. Muslim writing itself is a logical consequence of postcolonial writing which has been marked by Carribean, African and Muslim authors at the same time. Whereas Carribean writers focus on concepts such as nation or nationalism,.Black writers seem to reflect a notion which is widely understood by 'cultural memory'. Muslim writing on its behalf centers on the catchphrase 'identity' since it considers Islam as a perfect identity marker for the novel. This (Muslim) 'otherness' is rooted in a religion which has for too long been looked upon from Said's concept of 'otherness' which is based on Foucault's notion of 'power and knowledge'. lt is here where the dualistic concept of East and West is constructed which sees both sides as antagonistic spheres. lt also in this background where author and reader finally have to discuss this Muslim 'otherness' apart from their minds. lt is therefore this (religious) 'otherness' based on religion which makes it extremely difficult for Western readers to fully understand Muslim characters. This is due to the fact that Islam is not only a religious idea of the world, it is also a total concept of Muslim existence since it covers all spheres of Muslim existence, the religious, the social, the legal and the political. The intention of this essay therefore is to give a short survey of Muslim writing over the last 30 years. The aim is to shortly reflect the incorporation of Islam into the novel , a development which has been marked by Nünning/Nünning with the term 'cross-fertilization' thus refering to the close link between narration and religion. The focus of the chosen novels hoowever lies on 'identity', a term marked by the concept of modern man being a migrant or a nomad, thus also reflecting the consequences of migration waves and the phenomenon of globalization. The paper starts with a sociological and religious background before it shortly deals with "The Satanic Verses", "The Black Album", "Brick Lane", "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and "Guantanamo Boy". The aim ist o give a short survey oft he question of Muslim identity during the last 30 years.
Download or read book The Muslim Other in Contemporary British Literature written by O'shea-Meddour and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-28 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Humanity of Muhammad written by Craig Considine and published by Blue Dome Press. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes an American Catholic of Irish and Italian descent one of the leading global voices in admiration of Prophet Muhammad? In this overview of Muhammad's life and legacy, prominent scholar Craig Considine provides a sociological analysis of Muhammad's teachings and example. Considine shows how the Prophet embraced religious pluralism, envisioned a civic nation, stood for anti-racism, advocated for seeking knowledge, initiated women's rights, and followed the Golden Rule. Considine sheds light on the side of Prophet Muhammad that is often forgotten in mainstream depictions and media narratives. The Humanity of Muhammad is Considine's contribution to the growing body of literature on one of history's most important human beings.
Download or read book Making Sense of Contemporary British Muslim Novels written by Claire Chambers and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the sequel to Britain Through Muslim Eyes and examines contemporary novelistic representations of and by Muslims in Britain. It builds on studies of the five senses and ‘sensuous geographies’ of postcolonial Britain, and charts the development since 1988 of a fascinating and important body of fiction by Muslim-identified authors. It is a selective literary history, exploring case-study novelistic representations of and by Muslims in Britain to allow in-depth critical analysis through the lens of sensory criticism. It argues that, for authors of Muslim heritage in Britain, writing the senses is often a double-edged act of protest. Some of the key authors excoriate a suppression or cover-up of non-heteronormativity and women’s rights that sometimes occurs in Muslim communities. Yet their protest is especially directed at secular culture’s ocularcentrism and at successive British governments’ efforts to surveil, control, and suppress Muslim bodies.
Download or read book Canadian Muslim Writing An Introduction written by Matthias Dickert and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2017-04-10 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific Essay from the year 2017 in the subject Literature - Canada, , course: Englische Literatur, language: English, abstract: In the past four decades the literary reflection of Muslim life in East and West has been characterized by the West with skewed perceptions of Islam and Muslim existence. The events of 9/11 and its aftermath have worsened the traditional negative and stereotyped perception and treatment of Islam. The consequence from this was a negative treatment of Muslim existence by Western and Muslim writers alike. Many novelists disposing of a Muslim background were and (still) are trapped in the negative notion of 'the clash of civilizations' which is so often embedded in many novels be it in the presentation of the characters or simply a negative portrayal of the Muslim world. In contrast to many migrant writers with a British background who are labelled in terms such as 'Postcolonial', 'Migrant Writing', 'British Muslim Fiction', 'Muslim Narrative Writing' or 'Muslim Writing' American and Canadian based Muslim writers face a harder position since they are (historically, culturally and literarily speaking) not that deeply established as their British counterparts. This is partly due to the fewer number of writers and the shorter period of their literary presentation and a (logical) shorter literary tradition resulting from this. Open questions emerging from this here are if critics and readers alike see Islamic English literature as being literature written by Americans or Canadians or if it is basically Muslim or Islamic? It goes without saying that fiction is not only a reflection of reality but also a mode of tearing down the above mentioned stereotypes of Muslim existence as such. It is interestingly speaking matters of identity which function as key elements of 'Muslim Writing' in Britain, America and Canada a clear indication for the fact that treatment and representations of Muslims have not only been neglected so far but also offer a wide field of possibilities.
Download or read book Disorientation Muslim Identity in Contemporary Anglophone Literature written by E. Santesso and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-09-12 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on British novels about the Muslim immigrant experience published after 9/11; this book examines the promise as well as the limits of 'British Muslim' identity as a viable form of self-representation, and the challenges - particularly for women - of reconciling non-Western religious identity with the secular policies of Western states.
Download or read book Islamic Postcolonialism written by Hasan Majed and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-18 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Islamic postcolonialism is a theoretical perspective that combines two components which have up until now existed in a state of tension. As a secular theory, postcolonialism has notably failed to account for Muslim priorities; it has, for instance, had severe problems critiquing the anti-Islam polemics of The Satanic Verses, as is evidenced by Edward Said’s support for Rushdie, in spite of his criticism of the stereotypical representation of Islam and Muslims in the West. Islamic postcolonialism applies the anti-colonial resistant methodology of postcolonialism from a Muslim perspective, exploring the continuance of colonial discourse in part of the contemporary western writing about Islam and Muslims. This book explores how Islam is depicted and Muslim identities are constructed in four representative works of contemporary British fiction: Hanif Kureishi’s The Black Album (1995), Monica Ali’s Brick Lane (2003), Fadia Faqir’s My Name is Salma (2007), and Leila Aboulela’s Minaret (2005). Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988) is also discussed in terms of its crucial role in fostering what some Muslims might consider polemical and stereotypical positions in writing about Islam.
Download or read book Islam in Contemporary Literature written by John C. Hawley and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suitable for the classroom but completely accessible to the general reader, this volume presents many of the most interesting authors writing today from an Islamic background—Kamel Daoud, Yasmine el Rashidi, Hisham Matar, Tahar Djaout, Mohsin Hamid, Hanif Kureishi, Edward Said, Driss Chaibi, Kamila Shamsie, Tahar ben Jelloun, Leila Aboulela, Abdellah Taïa, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Hisham Matar, Eboo Patel, Reza Aslan, and Tamim Ansary, among others—who embody the various strains of Islamic interpretation and conflict. This study discusses an ongoing Reformation in Islam, focusing on the Arab Spring, the role of women and sexuality, the “clash of civilizations,” assimilation and cosmopolitanism, jihad, pluralism across cultures, free speech and apostasy. In an atmosphere of political and religious awakening, these authors search for a voice for individual rights while nations seek to restore a “disrupted destiny.” Questions of “de-Arabization” of the religion, ecumenicism, comparative modernities, and the role of literature thread themselves throughout the chapters of the book.
Download or read book British Literature and Spirituality written by Franz Karl Wöhrer and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2013 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reflects the current state of research in the field of the spiritual in British literature, where spirituality is understood as a culturally-determined, universal phenomenon or a factuality of humanity, consisting of the living apprehension of the 'Sacred' during rare gratuitous moments of illumination. With critical essays by scholars working in various disciplines (English studies, music, the arts, psychology, theology, etc.), the book explores a corpus of encoded narratives of - as well as reflections on - the 'Sacred' in British literature, from the Late Middle Ages to the present. Multi-disciplinary in nature and interdisciplinary in method, British Literature and Spirituality illustrates the hermeneutic potential of readings that transcend the disciplinary boundaries of spiritual writings. (Series: Austria: Forschung und Wissenschaft - Literatur- und Sprachwissenschaft / Austria: Research and Science - Literature and Linguistics - Vol. 24)
Download or read book Islam and Muslim Identities in Four Contemporary British Novels written by Hasan Majed and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Female Muslim Existence in the West Failure or Emancipation written by Matthias Dickert and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2016-09-20 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific Essay from the year 2016 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, , language: English, abstract: Monica Ali's novel "Brick Lane" published in 2003 marked her literary breakthrough as a female Muslim writer of the second generation. She, like many of her male predecessors such as Hanif Kureishi or Salman Rushdie, chose London as the literary region to reflect matters like migration, immigration, assimilation, cultural and religious backgrounds which she linked to classical matters of female writing such as emancipation. One of the results from this was not only an insight into the Bengali community of the Tower Hamlets or the role of Muslim women in general but a double vision of (Muslim and Western) life in Great Britain. The choice to focus on the Greater London Area also helped to concentrate on the new approach by Muslim writers of the second generation to work with the former notion of the 'postcolonial city' in a new way while presenting London as a multicultural place. This decision at present is accompanied by the second choice of these writers to also include former British colonies in order to better reflect the double background of their main characters. Kia Abdullah - like Ali - also stems from the large Bengali community of the Tower Hamlets in London and it was no surprise that the presentation of her main female character Kieran Ali also provoked criticism and protest from her own community. Her novel "Life, Love and Assimilation" (2006) must, however, be seen as the more provocative novel since her main character chooses and lives emancipation in a more radical way. This option is simply possible because Kieran – unlike Nazneen, the main character of "Brick Lane" – belongs to the generation of Muslim girls and teenagers who were born and raised in Great Britain. Both books can therefore be linked in the sense that they seem to start a discussion of female Muslim emancipation of immigrants (Nazneen) and girls being born and raised in the British Muslim community which still produces cultural and religious pressure on women. To write about this and to show the role of women under Islam is, of course, provocative but this provocation is honest and necessary to discuss the present status of Muslim women in general. The fact that both novels are based on an autobiographical background makes them even more convincing. It does, however, also show that both sides East and West still have a long way to go to tear down traditional religious concepts which still consider the female to being inferior to the male.
Download or read book British Muslim Fictions written by Claire Chambers and published by Springer. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to be a writer of Muslim heritage in the UK today? Is there such a thing as "Muslim fiction"? In a collection of revealing new interviews, Claire Chambers talks to writers including Tariq Ali, Ahdaf Soueif, Hanif Kureishi, and Abdulrazak Gurnah to discuss the impact that their Muslim heritage has had on their writing, and to argue that this body of writing is some of the most important and politically engaged fiction of recent years. From literary techniques and influences to the political and cultural debates that matter to Muslims in Britain and beyond -- such as the hijab, the war on terror and the Rushdie affair -- these thirteen interviews challenge the idea of a monolithic voice for Islam in Britain. Instead, together they paint a picture of the diversity of voices creating "British Muslim fictions" which ultimately enriches the cultural, social and political landscape of contemporary Britain.
Download or read book Islam s Jesus written by Zeki Saritoprak and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2020-05-01 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Accessible and readable. Spotlights an important theological theme in a way that both illuminates its internal development in Islamic thought and presents it as a helpful basis for interreligious discussion. The topic is very much in need of teaching and discussion and is a fine example of ‘common ground.’”—John Renard, author of Islam and Christianity “Contains valuable and fascinating material about how classical Muslim theologians treated various aspects of Jesus and, in particular, the role of Jesus in Islamic eschatology. Saritoprak brings new insights from contemporary Turkish thinkers to bear on the issues raised by the Jesus figure in Islamic narratives about the Last Days.”—Marcia Hermansen, author of Shah Wali Allah’s Treatises on Islamic Law “A refreshingly easy read that makes a complex world of theology and interfaith relations accessible and enjoyable for readers of all backgrounds.”—Jonathan Brown, author of Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World Few people realize that Jesus was a prominent messenger of God in Islam and that Muslims believe in the return of Jesus. Even among Muslims, it is not well known that there are diverse interpretations of references to Jesus in the Qur’an and the Hadith. Aiming to remedy this, Islam’s Jesus takes a bold yet candid look at the highly charged topic of Jesus’s place in Islam, exploring some of the religion’s least understood aspects. Examining multiple intellectual traditions, Zeki Saritoprak makes clear the reality of pluralism in the history of Islamic religious scholarship. Actively engaged in efforts to promote interfaith dialogue and harmony, Saritoprak thoughtfully argues that the shared belief in Jesus presents an excellent opportunity for understanding between Muslims and Christians. Together, they constitute more than half of the world’s population, and such understanding may be a foundation for peace.
Download or read book Undergraduate Catalog written by University of Michigan--Dearborn and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Representations of Islam in Travel Literature in Early Modern England written by Adam Galamaga and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: gut, University of Frankfurt (Main) (Institut für England- und Amerikastudien), course: Early Modern England & Islam 1560-1640, language: English, abstract: The “troubles” with Islam in today’s Europe concerning legal and social issues are accompanied by stereotypical visions of the Islamic world. Stereotypes and prejudices play of course a certain role in every representation or vision of the Other. In regard to Islam they are, however, of a particularly long and rich history. Already after one century from its emergence Islam was seen as a danger to Christianity. John of Damascus granted already in 8th century a complete, though totally ignorant view of the Muslim civilization. Muhammad was depicted by him as an Antichrist and he declared Islam to be a conspiracy against Christianity. The medieval reception of Islam is shown very accurately in the famous Divina Comedia by Dante, where the reader finds Mohammed placed nowhere else but in hell: “(...) see how Mahomet is mangled! Before he goes Ali in tears, his face cleft from chin to forelock; and all the others thou seest here were in life sowers of scandal and schism and therefore are thus cloven”. Untrue and unfair depictions of Islam in Europe are found in Catholic theology by Thomas Aquinas, who is still regarded by the Church as its most prominent philosopher. Ignorance about Islam may seem understandable as far as fear of religious challenge is concerned, since many critics of Islam felt it was their duty to defend the truth about God. Many of them depicted the Muslim culture in a completely wrong way because of the very fact that they had never been in real contact with that culture. More detailed investigations about what was behind the teachings would, however, needed to be based on direct encounter. Accounts on Islam based on personal experience would have been then at least more objective and neutral – but the opposite is the case. In the so-called travel literature depictions of Islam are full of bias, fears and unjust insinuations. The purpose of travel writing in early modern Europe was not to represent Islam as it was, but to prove the distinction between the good and evil, whereas Christianity was meant to be the good and Islam the evil. Representations or rather misrepresentations of Islam in English literature of the Early Modern Period in general and in travel accounts written in that time in particular are the subject of this paper. A general characteristic of travel writing on Islam is given, two selected accounts – by William Biddulph and William Lithgow – are discussed in a more detailed way.
Download or read book Female Muslim Characters and the Lure of the Hybrid My name is Salma by Fadia Faquir written by Matthias Dickert and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2016-01-13 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, Comenius University in Bratislava (Englische Literatur), language: English, abstract: The intention of this essay is to give one important literary reflection of how female Muslim existence is presented in the contemporary English speaking novel. The choice to concentrate on a female Muslim author results from the fact that (female) Muslim writing at the moment represents one of the strongest and most influential movements of writers coming from an Islamic background. It is novelists like Bapsi Sidhwa, Qaisra Sharaz, Umera Ahmad, Kamila Shamsie, Sara Suleri or Monica Ali who have shown in their writings that most publications of female writers seem to present their characters in a more convincing and more multiple way than their male counterparts. The structure of this essay is as follows. The beginning will consist of some sort of background information which will cover fields all of which will help to understand the background these writers (and their characters) come from. This literary analysis therefore starts with a (critical) reflection of Muslim writing. This will then be followed by an excursion on the concept of hybridity under an Islamic focus because female hyprid existence in the West is the central parameter chosen here. This essay will be followed by a closer analysis of Fadia Faquir's novel My name is Salma (2007) in order to give an example of female Muslim existence in the West and in the East. It is exactly this span of two opposing worlds which finally brings about the main character's failure and death. The end of this essay then will result in some sort of outlook where female Muslim writing might head to.
Download or read book Islamic Postcolonialism written by Hasan Saeed Majed and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Islamic postcolonialism is a theoretical perspective that combines two components which have up until now existed in a state of tension. As a secular theory, postcolonialism has notably failed to account for Muslim priorities; it has, for instance, had severe problems critiquing the anti-Islam polemics of The Satanic Verses, as is evidenced by Edward Said's support for Rushdie, in spite of his criticism of the stereotypical representation of Islam and Muslims in the West. Islamic postcolonialism applies the anti-colonial resistant methodology of postcolonialism from a Muslim perspective, exploring the continuance of colonial discourse in part of the contemporary western writing about Islam and Muslims. This book explores how Islam is depicted and Muslim identities are constructed in four representative works of contemporary British fiction: Hanif Kureishi's The Black Album (1995), Monica Ali's Brick Lane (2003), Fadia Faqir's My Name is Salma (2007), and Leila Aboulela's Minaret (2005). Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses (1988) is also discussed in terms of its crucial role in fostering what some Muslims might consider polemical and stereotypical positions in writing about Islam.
