‘Halal’ Fiction and The Politics of Faith-Driven Praxis: A Critical Reading of Leila Aboulela’s The Translator

Abstract

Using Leila Aboulela’s signal novel, The Translator, as a stepping-stone, I set out in this research paper to address ‘Halal fiction’ as an articulation of a faith-driven praxis, whose bearing on matters such as courtship between partners of different faiths (that is, a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man) cum identity construction against a background of immigration, bears testimony. The paper argues that the overarching hallmark of faith that characterizes Halal fiction, also known as Islamic fiction, means that religious morality permeates every facet of life in it. Islamic fiction, it bears stressing, portrays a set of characters imbued with a strong sense of religious etiquette thanks to which they foster all guns blazing love and friendship while eschewing courses of action that fan the flames of hatred. I posit that Islamic fiction is a kind of standard bearer of the humanness of Muslim faith in Western societies where, oftentimes, fear and rejection of adherents of Muslim faith feed on intolerance as well as phony homogenizing claims of cultural supremacy. Deep-seated belief in Islam, so the paper contends, is not incommensurate by any means with harmonious living amongst folks of different cultural and religious backgrounds.