View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Research Repository Veiled experiences: re-writing women's identities and experiences in contemporary Muslim fiction in English Firouzeh Ameri B.A. Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran M.A. University of Tehran, Tehran This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University. 2012 i I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. ii Abstract In dominant contemporary Western representations, including various media texts, popular fiction and life-narratives, both the Islamic faith in general and Muslim women in particular are often vilified and stereotyped. In many such representations Islam is introduced as a backward and violent religion, and Muslim women are represented as either its victims or its fortunate survivors. This trend in the representations of Islam and Muslim women has been markedly intensified following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 2001. This thesis takes a postpositivist realist approach to reading selected contemporary women’s fiction, written in English, and foregrounding the lives and religious identities of Muslim women who are neither victims nor escapees of Islam but willingly committed to their faith. Texts include The Translator (1999) and Minaret (2005) by Leila Aboulela, Does my head look big in this? (2005) by Randa Abdel-Fattah, Sweetness in the belly (2005) by Camilla Gibb and The girl in the tangerine scarf (2006) by Mohja Kahf. Attempting to explain how these fictional texts can be read as variously writing back to the often monolithic representations of Islam and Muslim women characteristic of mainstream Western texts (such as those depicted in popular life narratives), the thesis draws attention to the ways in which particular narrative techniques highlight the complexities of Muslim women’s religious identities and experiences. Since the novels depict the lives of Muslim female characters in the West, this study is especially concerned with the exploration of the tensions and contradictions of women’s Muslim identities in Western countries, and iii addresses Western people’s interests and prejudices in their encounter with Muslim women. Finally, given that various aspects to Muslim women's identities and experiences are typically elided in dominant representations, it is argued that a disruption of the stereotypes of Muslim women signals the potential for the compatibility of Muslim women's distinct identities with Western values. iv Table of Contents Declaration ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements vi Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: Approaching and evaluating literary representations: Theoretical considerations 22 Chapter Three: Contemporary Western literary representations of Muslim women 51 Chapter Four: Introduction to the selected novels 89 Chapter Five: Leila Aboulela, The translator and Minaret 96 Chapter Six: Randa Abdel-Fattah, Does my head look big in this? 127 Chapter Seven: Mohja Kahf, The girl in the tangerine scarf 160 Chapter Eight: Camilla Gibb, Sweetness in the belly 198 Chapter Nine: Conclusion 224 References 232 v Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the help of many people who gave me support, love and care during this long journey. My heartfelt thanks firstly go to my supervisor, Dr. Anne Surma. There are no words that can express my gratitude and appreciation for all she has done for me. It is because of her encouragement, patience, flexibility, genuine support and enthusiasm, not to mention her invaluable academic input and insightful advice, that this thesis could be written. Thank you for believing in me and helping me get through the difficult times. I would have been lost without you. My deep gratitude also goes to professor Vijay Mishra for suggesting this area of study to me for my thesis and for reading my thesis. Attending the Honours Seminars at Murdoch (as a guest), presented by Professor Mishra, was a most enriching and exciting academic experience for me. I will also always remain grateful to my dear professors at Shahid Beheshti and Tehran University during my B.A and M.A studies, whose dedication and inspiring teaching encouraged me to pursue my studies. I am also grateful to many people at Murdoch University, including the librarians, and people at Graduate Centre and IT service desk for kindly assisting me along the way. My special thanks go to the Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Graham O'Hara, for his support of and trust in me. vi I am also deeply indebted to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran for supporting me financially and to the University of Tabriz, Iran, for supporting me and patiently waiting for me to finish my studies and return to teach. My fellow postgraduates at Transportable Three, I will never forget you. Thank you for making my time at Murdoch a more enjoyable experience and especially for the lovely goodbye party you threw for me. My special thanks to my friends, Wendy Cater, Peta Mulcahy, and Helena Kadmos for their warmth and unconditional love and support. A big hug and many thanks to my Iranian friends in Perth and my friends in Iran for the emotional support, companionship and entertainment they provided for me and for their always being there for me. Seifollah, my dear husband, I cannot thank you enough. Your love and patience sustained me all through. You shared my many joys and frustrations along the way and endured a lot without complaining. I cannot imagine finishing this thesis if it were not for your confidence in me and my confidence in you. I dedicate this thesis to you. My lovely daughters, Sara and Sahba, you are my sources of joy and inspiration. When I started this journey, you were not in this world, and now that you, Sara, can draw beautiful pictures and sing beautiful songs at your pre-school and you, Sahba, can sweetly say the few words you know, I also dedicate this thesis to you. Thank you for being such good girls and allowing mummy to study. My special thanks to my loving parents and brothers. Without your support, this thesis would not have been possible. Thank you for your unwavering love, your great patience, your faith in me and for helping me with all you had. You are so precious to me. I also dedicate this thesis to you. My dear mother-in-law and sister-in-laws, I owe vii you a great deal. Thank you for your kind support and for looking after me and the kids when we needed to be looked after, back in Iran. Finally, thank you to all the nice people who helped me in this endeavour. viii Chapter One: Introduction It is a mistake to see religious and cultural norms, practices and identities as nothing more than expressions of oppressive power, discounting the meaning that these phenomena have for the agents who enact them. (Baum 2006, 1077) For many people in the West, Islam means terrorism and/or burqa-clad women. A number of horrendous terrorist acts carried out in Western countries by people who claim Muslim faith, culminating in the watershed events of 9/11, have persuaded some Westerners to associate Islam with terrorism and given rise to the idea that they are living in an 'age of terror', one in which Muslim threat is ever-present.1 Obsession with Islamic terrorism perhaps parallels obsession with Muslim women's veil in the West. A Muslim woman's veil both disgusts many Westerners and arouses their pity, and for many of them is an epitome of cruelty of Islam. As a result of negative attitudes toward Muslims, as various polls show, Muslims in the West are the main targets of racist attitudes and behaviours.2 Iconic symbols, particularly Muslim women's hijab and Muslim mosques have been controversial issues in various 1Research indicates that some people in the West see Muslims as threats to their national security. See, for example, Kabir (2004); Oborne (2008). 2 According to a new Gallup Centre for Muslim Studies report released on 10 January 2010, 43% of Americans admit to feeling some prejudice against Muslims. See http://www.gallup.com/poll/125312/Religious-Prejudice-Stronger-Against-Muslims.aspx. A study conducted by leading Australian universities in February 2011 also reveals that almost 50% of Australians have anti-Muslim sentiments. See http://www.rediff.com/news/report/slide-show-1-50-per-cent-aussies-anti-muslim-25-per-cent-racist- towards-asians-finds-poll/20110223.htm. A CBC-commissioned poll conducted in 2010 also suggests that one in three Canadians believe that Muslims and aboriginal people are discriminated against. See http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2010/03/15/discrimination-poll-2010.html. 1 European countries. Thus, being a Muslim, especially a practising Muslim woman in the West, is certainly not easy these days. Neither do Islam and Muslims fare well in many contemporary Western representations. Any study of Western representations of these topics, including various media texts, popular fiction and life-narratives, is likely to reveal that in many of them the Islamic faith in general and Muslim women in particular are often vilified and stereotyped. In many such representations Islam is introduced as a backward and violent religion, Muslim men as controlling, barbarian sadists and Muslim women as either Islam's victims or its fortunate survivors. This trend in the representations of 3 Islam and Muslim people markedly intensified following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. 3 In Chapter Three of this thesis I will discuss popular Muslim memoirs. Here, very briefly I refer to representations of contemporary Western media of Islam and Muslims.