Journal of Religion & Film Volume 24 Issue 1 April 2020 Article 59 March 2020 No Riddle but Time: Historical Consciousness in Two Islamicate Films David Sander Stonehill College,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf Part of the History of Religion Commons, Islamic Studies Commons, and the Islamic World and Near East History Commons Recommended Citation Sander, David (2020) "No Riddle but Time: Historical Consciousness in Two Islamicate Films," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 24 : Iss. 1 , Article 59. Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol24/iss1/59 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Religion & Film by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. No Riddle but Time: Historical Consciousness in Two Islamicate Films Abstract This article explores ways in which film expresses “internal history” in the context of Muslim cultures. As such, it enquires how film can work as both Islamic art and historical contemplation. The films discussed here, Nacer Khemir’s Wanderers in the Desert and Muhammad Rasoulof’s Iron Island, inhabit and explore the borderline between imagination and reality. The films in question offer an imaginal interspace between “modern” and “traditional” worlds. As such they open up critical perspectives on the meaning of history. What follows is a discussion of how each film offers a window onto differing perceptions of time, and what may be glimpsed through this window. Keywords Islam, Sufism, surrealism, history, historiography, barzakh, time Author Notes David Sander is Assistant Professor of History at Stonehill College.