Elhalafawy, Ayman Ibrahim

doi:10.21608/jssa.2020.119144

"Because they are Muslim they must be doing wrong?" ‘Islamophobia’ in Yussef El Guindi's Language Rooms (2010)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Ayman Ibrahim Elhalafawy

Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Kafrelsheikh University

10.21608/jssa.2020.119144

Abstract

In the aftermath of the September attacks, it has been widely discerned that several Western literary works have shaped – and at times distorted- the perception of Islam, offered a mediated version that transcends reality, and featured Islam in the consciousness of international readers in a negative manner: Islamic culture is backward, Muslims are prone to violence and Islam promotes terrorism. Within the framework of postcolonialism, this paper discusses ‘Islamophobia’ in Yussef El Guindi's play Language Rooms (2010). As an Arab American writer, El Guindi tackles the prejudices of the Western world against Arab Americans after the 9/11 attacks. Accordingly, the paper is divided into two main parts. The first part tends to be an introductory theoretical one. It begins by surveying the history and development of ‘Islamophobia’ in literary studies. The second part of the paper focuses on El Guindi's Language Rooms. This part provides a comprehensive analysis of the play in order to find out how ‘Islamophobia’ is reflected in it. Hence, the play reflects failure in Western circles to properly understand the nature of Islam and Muslims considering them a source of fear, threat and violence.

Keywords

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