REPRESENTATION OF BRITISH MUSLIM IDENTITIES IN LEILA ABOULELA’S MINARET AND NADEEM ASLAM’S MAPS FOR LOST LOVERS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY NESRİN KOÇ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE DECEMBER 2014 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences ______________ Prof. Dr. Meliha ALTUNIŞIK Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. ______________ Assoc. Prof.Dr. Nurten BİRLİK Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. ______________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Hülya YILDIZ BAĞÇE Supervisor Examining Committee Members Asst. Prof. Dr. Elif ÖZTABAK AVCI (METU, ELIT) ______________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Hülya YILDIZ BAĞÇE (METU, ELIT) ______________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Zeynep YILMAZ KURT (IPEK, ELIT) ______________ I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name : Nesrin, KOÇ Signature : iii ABSTRACT REPRESENTATION OF BRITISH MUSLIM IDENTITIES IN LEILA ABOULELA’S MINARET AND NADEEM ASLAM’S MAPS FOR LOST LOVERS KOÇ, Nesrin M.A., in English Literature Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Hülya YILDIZ BAĞÇE December 2014, 130 Pages Representation of British Muslim identities in Contemporary British fiction is a thriving field of research. With the aim of contributing to this field, this study brings together two contemporary novels, Minaret (2005) by Leila Aboulela, where the novel presents a very monolithic and closed understanding of religion, and Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam, which is critical of religious fundementalism. Reading them aganist the background of significant events such as The Rushdie Affair, and “halal fiction”, the thesis emphazises the diversity British Muslim fiction writers are promising. Even though liberal, secular authors seem to be dominating the literary scene and thus determing the representation of British Muslim identities, reading Minaret and Maps in dialogue with each other, shows how British Muslim identities are in fact nuanced, complex and fluid. Keywords: British Muslim Fiction, Leila Aboulela, Minaret, Nadeem Aslam, Maps for Lost Lovers iv ÖZ LEİLA ABOULELA’NIN MİNARE VE NADEEM ASLAM’IN KAYBOLAN SEVGİLİLERE YOLLAR ROMANLARINDA İNGİLİZ MÜSLÜMAN KİMLİKLERİNİN TEMSİLİ KOÇ, Nesrin Yüksek Lisans Tezi, İngiliz Edebiyatı Anabilim Dalı Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Hülya YILDIZ BAĞÇE Aralık 2014, 130 Sayfa Çağdaş İngiliz Edebiyatında İngiliz Müslüm kimliğinin temsilleri, son dönemde oldukça ilgi gören bir araştırma alanıdır. Bu alana katkıda bulunmak amacıyla, bu çalışma kapalı ve tekel bir İslam anlayışının sunulduğu Leila Aboulela’nın Minare romanı ile tutuculuğun eleştirildiği Nadeem Aslam’ın Kaybolan Sevgililere Yollar romanını biraraya getirmektedir. İki romanı, Salman Rushdie olayı, “helal roman” trendi gibi faktörleri ve popüler edebiyattaki İngiliz Müslüman temsillerini değerlendirerek okuyan bu çalışma İngiliz Müslüman yazarların eserlerinde karşımıza çıkan çeşitliliğe vurgu yapmaktadır. Minare ve Kaybolan Sevgililere Yollar romanlarının İngiliz Müslüman Edebiyatının farklı örneklerini de göz önünde bulundurarak birarada okunmasının gösterdiği üzere tek bir İngiliz Müslüman kimliğinden söz etmek mümkün değildir. Bilakis, bu kimlikler karmaşık ve değişkendir. Anahtar Kelimeler: İngiliz Müslüman Romanı, Leila Aboulela, Minare, Nadeem Aslam, Kaybolan Sevgililere Yollar v To Oğuzalp, the cutest little thing on Earth vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study owes a debt of gratitude to many institutions and individuals without whose guidance and assistance it would not have been possible. In order not to risk unintentionally leaving someone out I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed to it in various ways. I would first like to thank my supervisor Asst. Prof. Dr. Hülya Yıldız Bağçe for her genuine interest and support in this study. I had written a book review on Leila Aboulela for the Postcolonial Fiction course she was teaching, and she encouraged me to pursue this topic. If it was not for her encouragement I would have never started this project. She read countless drafts, gave feedbacks and expressed interest in what I was discussing. My jury members Asst. Prof. Dr. Elif Öztabak- Avcı and Asst. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Yılmaz Kurt have been most kind critics. Starting with my proposal jury, their advices have been invaluable all throughout the thesis. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents Nefize- Halim Mutlu and brother Cüneyt, who have supported me in all sorts of possible ways, from encouraging my career to giving day care to my son while I was concentrating on my research. Above all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my husband Ahmet Cumhur Koç, who has been always been there for me. Without his unwavering love and support, and belief in my research I cannot even imagine having completed this thesis. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ………………………………………………………………………iii ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………... iv ÖZ ………………………………………………………………………………….. v DEDICATION ……………………………………………………………………… vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………………...vii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………. viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 1.1 The Aim of the Study ................................................................................... 1 1.2 Studying Minaret and Maps for Lost Lovers: Sources and Review of Literature ……….. .............................................................................................. 2 1.3 Methodology and the Frame of the Study: Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures . ......................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Postcolonialism and Postcolonial Theory .......................................... 7 1.4 Exploring Identity in the 21st Century .......................................................... 9 2 BRITISH MUSLIM FICTION ......................................................................... 15 2.1 The Rushdie Affair ..................................................................................... 18 2.2 Leila Aboulela and Her Work .................................................................... 19 2.2.1 Halal Fiction ..................................................................................... 22 2.3 Nadeem Aslam and His Work .................................................................... 23 3 REPRESENTATION BRITISH MUSLIM IDENTITIES OF IN MINARET .. 31 3.1 Inserting Muslims into British Fiction: Aboulela’s Islamically Informed Narrative in Minaret ......................................................................................... 34 3.2 Making up for the Loss: Filling the ‘Empty Space Called Freedom’ ........ 50 3.3 (In)visible in Hijab: Agency of Hijab in Minaret ...................................... 61 4 REPRESENTATION OF BRITISH MUSLIM IDENTITIES IN MAPS FOR LOST LOVERS .................................................................................................. 68 4.1 Navigating Through “The Wilderness of Solitude”: Negotiating Hyphenated Identities ....................................................................................... 68 viii 4.2 Intersections of Gender and Diaspora in Maps for Lost Lovers................. 86 4.3 Use of Art and the Function of the Artist in Maps for Lost Lovers ......... 100 5 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 106 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………110 APPENDICES A. TURKISH SUMMARY ………………………………………………118 B. TEZ FOTOKOPİSİ İZİN FORMU …………………………………….130 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Aim of the Study In “Recent Literary Representations of British Muslims,” (2011) Claire Chambers argues that reflections of terrorist attacks of 9/11 in literature marks a turning point in contemporary British fiction since British writers began to examine formerly neglected issues of representation of Islam in contemporary British Literature in a more complex and nuanced way (176). Throughout her academic writing, Chambers has been emphasizing the need to chart this emerging British Muslim fiction, which, in her view, has been until recently ignored, and/or perceived as a background to gender, class, sexuality and race. Departing from this point, this thesis aims to analyse two novels, Minaret (2005) by Leila Aboulela and Maps for Lost Lovers (2004) by Nadeem Aslam, as examples of British Muslim fiction, in the spirit aspired by Chambers. Minaret and Maps for Lost Lovers are chosen as examples of the fiction specifically dealing with issues of Islam and contemporary life, which are further complicated by the experience of migration, while at the same time exploring the issues of negotiation of British Muslim identities in a nuanced way. Minaret is a first person account of life in Britain, and emphasizes the role of faith as a power that can overcome all the difficulties and provide an alternative space for belonging for the individual in exile. Maps, on the other hand, portrays a community