Author: Norah Al-Abdallah

University: Birkbeck, University of London

Date of Award: 2022

Abstract:

This thesis examines the way in which cultural critique and representation of Islamic traditions have been achieved through images, multi-narrative perspective, and verbal description of images using Western symbols to avoid offense against religious doctrine. The first introductory chapter sets out the argument of the thesis. Norah Al-Abdallah examines the representation of Islam through the two literary modes of realism and magical realism. Chapter One focuses on why The Satanic Verses cannot be considered as a magical realist novel in its representation of orthodox Islam. She argues that the novel is not a magical realist novel because part of the magical realist literary mode must conform to the canons of literary realism; this criterion is not satisfied in The Satanic Verses. Chapter Two examines Orhan Pamuk’s The Color Red where the representation of Islamic culture and tradition is achieved through the prism of European realism. The discussion of The Color Red shows a way of critiquing the Islamic tradition in a positive way through respectful questioning of prohibitions and finding a way to enhance Islamic culture. The Western fantasy of the Other is turned on the West through the Westernization of Islamic art. Chapter Three is an anthropological analysis of the representation of a Saudi Arabian culture through Western symbols in Yousef Al-Mohaimeed’s Wolves of the Crescent Moon. Western culture is mistranslated by the Arabian adoption of Western symbols, and this is used by the novelist as a form of critique. Some cultural actions reveal corrupt actions that take place in an Islamic society. These cultural actions do not fall under Islamic tradition and indeed violate it. Chapter Four on Michel Tournier’s The Golden Droplet critiques the Western representation of Islamic cultural appropriation which forces and imposes a false image of the Algerian Islamic world during French imperialism. The Islamic representation of the West creates a critique of the colonial gaze. In this section the Islamic form of representation is shown to mediate truth more than Western form of representation.

Source: EThOS

Elizabeth Poole, Professor of Media and Communications at Keele University, and Milly Williamson, a Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, said that British newspapers had tried to portray Muslims as “un-British” and had tried to create a moral panic over Muslim burials and Muslims not social distancing.

The academics analysed the reporting in four UK newspapers (Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Sun and The Mirror) in April 2020 – the initial peak of the crisis. They found that positive narratives about Muslims, supported initially by stories about community initiatives and volunteering, soon gave way to “macabre and sensationalist imagery of a build-up of coffins at mosques.”

Moral panics over social distancing was also a strong feature of international news, including speculation on the status of the annual Hajj to Makkah and images of the mass gathering of Muslims, particularly in the build-up to Ramadan. One example in The Sun described how “THOUSANDS of Muslim men are seen attending a packed Friday prayer service despite concerns of the new coronavirus outbreak.”

The media panic around social distancing reached a peak just before Ramadan, which saw numerous stories and appeals (including from Heath Secretary Matt Hancock) to Muslims to behave according to the regulations, with little evidence that they were flouting the rules more than other sections of the population. On the other hand, the authors said that the number of ethnic minority health workers dying of coronavirus forced the news media, most unusually, to discuss issues of structural discrimination. Four of the first doctors to die in the UK were Muslims, followed by another four doctors and two nurses in the coming weeks.

“These findings should be interpreted in the context of a political landscape that has become increasingly hostile to immigration which is linked to the politics of scarcity. As austerity measures bite in the recession following the pandemic, this hegemonic framework is likely to continue, with Muslims as the ‘suspect’ communities through which racist discourses continue to be legitimised.”

Source: 5Pillars

“Dr. Kara is part of a new generation of international scholarship in Shi’i Islam. His approach to the material and the questions he asks are fresh and creative,” President Hadsell said. “His appreciation for and experience with the importance and richness of the dialogue between schools of Islamic thought are also part of the considerable contribution he will make to his field and to all of us at Hartsem.” Dr. Kara completed his MAs at the University of London and the Islamic College, and his Ph.D. at the University of Durham as well as studying in seminaries in the UK, Syria and Iran. For seven years, he worked as a research assistant and researcher for the Islamic Human Rights Commission in London. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters, and organized the project “Working Towards a Long-Term Solution to Internecine Muslim Violence” for the Universal Justice Network. He will begin work in July as Assistant Professor for Shi’i Studies and Relations between Islamic Schools of Thought.

“By establishing the Imam Ali Chair for Shi’i Studies and Dialogue among Islamic Legal Schools, Hartford Seminary is yet again playing a pioneering role in developing community relations,” Dr. Kara said. “What makes this position even more special is that, in the current climate of intra-religious tension, it holds a unique responsibility to work towards understanding the causes of tension and defusing them, through engaging with the community and carrying out rigorous academic research. I feel extremely privileged to be appointed to such an important position.”

Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub, now retired from teaching at Hartford Seminary, was the driving force behind the Imam Ali Chair, which was established in 2015. The first and present occupant of the chair is Dr. Sayed Ammar Nakhjavani, who is known around the world as a speaker and was named to the list of The 500 Most Influential Muslims. The reason for the chair, Dr. Ayoub said at the time it was inaugurated, is not to create a rival program for the study of Sunni Islam, which encompasses about 85 percent of Muslims. It is to include the voice of Shi’i Islam at an institution that has such a special history and role in Christian-Muslim relations and to work toward Muslim unity. Dr. Kara, he said, is an excellent person to fill that role because of his understanding of both Shi’i and Sunni scholarship and his active participation as a scholar. “His work on human rights is very good for the Seminary,” Dr. Ayoub said. “He will fit here quite well.”

Source: Hartford Seminary’s Website