Postcolonialism, Islamophobia and inserting Islamic facts in African-American fiction: Umm Zakiyyah’s if I should speak

Ahmad H.Osman, Rahmah and Barebwa, Nadira (2023) Postcolonialism, Islamophobia and inserting Islamic facts in African-American fiction: Umm Zakiyyah’s if I should speak. Islam in Asia, 20 (3). pp. 34-61. ISSN 1823-0970 E-ISSN 2289-8077

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Abstract

Islam has been growing quickly in the world, yet it is a predominately misunderstood religion. Othering Islam through media propaganda and western writings, and misassociating it with some assumptions are still rampant. Thus, the researcher attempts at showing these assumptions and stereotypical prejudgments of Islam and Muslims that are commonly associated with Western assumptions resulted in Islamophobia and exploring the role of counter-discourses in contemporary Black-American Fiction by analysing Umm Zakiyyah’s If I Should Speak and showing to what extent does the novel has an important role in correcting assumptions and narrating the Islamic facts. Thus, this article highlights Umm Zakiyyah’s narrative of Islam’s truth within its historical sources which are the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The paper analyses Umm Zakiyyah’s reconsideration of Islam’s truth, by focusing on the meaning of Islam and being a Muslim. To do so, this qualitative and non-empirical research is conducted in a descriptive-theoretical analysis, using the selected novel as a primary source and library and online critical materials, such as books and journal articles, as secondary reference. Based on the analysis, it is found that Umm Zakiyyah narrates Islam and Muslims to counter the West’s negative view on Islam. Furthermore, based on the story, the power of Muslim self-identification within the transparent historical knowledge based on the Quran’s perspectives leads to the conversion of Tamika Douglass, proving that Islam can be perceived positively by non-Muslims; in this case, it is represented within its subjectivity. It is found that the novel can be a tool of Islamic da’wah [call for the faith]. Hence, the Muslim writers and novelists should write and attempt to Islamise English fiction to help in solving the challenges faced by Muslims and the Ummah.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Islamophobia, Islamic Postcolonialism, Umm Zakiyyah, Fiction, Facts.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) > H10 Societies P Language and Literature > PI Oriental languages and literatures
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of Arabic Language and Literature
Depositing User:	PROF. DR. RAHMAH BT AHMAD H. OSMAN
Date Deposited:	08 Jan 2024 12:50
Last Modified:	08 Jan 2024 14:49
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/109734

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