Understanding the Representation of Muslims and Islam in the English Oriental Tradition

By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam 6 June 2023 Orientalism in English Literature: Perception of Islam and Muslims Author: Abdur Raheem Kidwai Publisher: Viva Books Private Limited, New Delhi Year of Publication: 2018 Pages: 282, Price: Rs 1395 ISBN 9788130926926 ----- Orientalism since the marvellous and ground breaking study of Edward W Said has assumed a separate discipline of study. During the crusades, the Christians started to demonize the personality of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Holy Quran and Islam. The purpose of this frivolous campaign was to create an environment that would justify the battles against Muslims. These wars were justified as battles between truth and falsehood (read Islam). Once the Christians were defeated, they undertook spiritual and academic wars. Those who headed those wars constituted the Orientalists. Although, they were not named so during those days, but after the European colonialism started to grab and gobble the Muslim lands, there was a dedicated army of colonial scholars, linguists, polymaths, translators, researchers and writers who used to study the languages, religion, and culture of the conquered Muslims and people of the Orient. They did constitute the Orientalists, some of them did good sound work that is free from stereotypes, biases and prejudices against Muslims However, most of them were working to further the colonial cause, so they needed a strong justification for vanquishing millions of Muslims. This task of justifying and granting legitimacy to the colonial project was executed smoothly by the Orientalists. Thus, for the European masses, these Orientalists became the main source of knowledge about the colonized people. They presented them as ones needing to be civilized, their rule as liberal, justified and offering freedom to the colonized ones. The colonial rule was exaggerated as a great progressive project of civilising the Muslims subjects. This role today has been taken over by the Islamophobes. Prof A.R Kidwai, is a prominent scholar, researcher, writer and translator. He has published scores of books and hundreds of his book reviews have been appreciated over these decades. Being an academic whose expertise lies in the English literary genre, although he is considered an authority and expert in Islamic and Quranic studies too, depicting his versatile scholarship in multiple fields. In this new book, he engages with an important subject as is manifested from the title of his work. The British imposed English language over the Indian subcontinent and other colonized lands. This language and its cultural baggage were resisted by the Muslims, but ultimately it became the lingua franca of these lands, even after the end of colonialism. Now it is one of the major languages of the world and Muslims are now reaching out to others by expressing themselves articulately in this language. As a student and scholar of English Literature, Prof Kidwai, very well observes, “On studying the English literary texts which are representative of Literary Orientalism, one comes across a wide range of responses, from sheer hatred and revulsion to demonization, caricature, contempt, ridicule, light-hearted humor, and occasional acclaim, respect and appreciation. At times, even two contemporary writers viewed Islam/Muslims very differently.” (P-xii) But now the things are changing for better, and new studies that are objective with minimal bias are being published, that is the silver lining, “In today’s globalized, multi-faith world we must support and strengthen all that which may facilitate peaceful co-existence and pluralism and open up strong, vibrant channels of cross-cultural communication and understanding. We cannot afford a relapse into an age of bigotry and mutual distrust and hostility which the recent studies on Literary Orientalism earnestly seek to remove.” (P-xv) However, earlier the Europe’s relationship with Islam was prejudiced, full of hatred that is why Arabs were depicted as Noble savages. The problem with most Orientalists was that they equated Islam with Middle East and Arabs. They were neglectful of the fact that most Muslims lived in Asia. For most Arabs too it is surprising to find that they are a minority. In dominant Oriental weltanschauung, Islam is presented as inferior and West as superior. Muslims are described as a threat to the Christian civilization. Prof Kidwai also deals with women poets and how they see Indian, Orientalist perspective. Muslims in the Oriental studies, books and literature are depicted as violent and driven by lust. It is believed that Muslims cannot speak for themselves so they need someone to represent, particularly a person from West. So, if Muslim men are devils, it draws a corollary that their women need to be saved and liberated. But all Orientalists do not articulate such demonic picture of Muslims, there are some with sympathetic attitude too. We have examples wherein Orientalists have not resorted to Islam bashing. “Lady Montagu does not indulge in Islam-bashing. Her comparison is sober, academic and pleasantly free from any note of triumphalist superiority. Rather, the Letters is characterized by its delightsome feature of meaningful, rational discussions between Lady Montagu and Turkish male aristocrats on a variety of issues, especially the status of woman. What it signifies is the scope and need for a purposeful, serious dialogue between the West and the Muslim world, which is regrettably still an unfinished, rather neglected item of agenda. Unlike her predecessors, Lady Montagu does not site the Orient as a land of barbarism, inhabited by those given only to violence and licentiousness, and devoid of reason and morals. She thus makes a clean break from the conventionally prejudiced, negative view of Islam/Muslims and displays a fine understanding of their way of life, helped in part by her eyewitness account with an abundance of genuine local topographical and cultural elements.” (P-111-112) A contemporary Muslim women novelist Qaisara Shahraz, and her novels are academically and critically analysed by Prof Kidwai, how she understands women’s rights, feudalism, patriarchy and misogyny among Muslim societies, form the context and background of her novels. These novels do help to understand numerous issues that happen in the lives of Muslims and their milieu. There is nothing like Honour killing sanctioned in Islam, but it is prevalent in some Muslim societies. Further, Prof Kidwai, critically examines Balwant Gargi’s autobiography Purple Moonlight and brings forth the fact about how it reinforced the stereotypes and prejudices against Muslims. Also Burqa, Hijab of Muslim women along with Harem is misrepresented in the literary orientalism. The reader is made aware about how Muslims, women, East is represented in the Western literary tradition, while creating misconceptions about Islam and Muslims. Dozens of book reviews mostly dealing with the academic books that engage with representation of Muslims in English literature too form part of the book. In these reviews, the scholarly engagement of Prof Kidwai, is brought forth with more vigorous verve. The representation of the Orient in English is a largely neglected field of study and we must congratulate Prof Kidwai for taking up this study. This book is an essential read for any student and reader who intends to understand the representation of Muslims and Islam, in the English Oriental tradition. Prof. Kidwai needs to be congratulated for this important feat. ------ Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/muslims-islam-english-oriental-tradition/d/129930 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism