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
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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.
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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
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