Beyond the veil
Culture, Religion, Language and Identity in Black British Muslimah Literature
Islam is the second largest religious group in Britain, yet British Muslim and especially Muslimah authors often remain overlooked in academia. This study explores contemporary novels and texts featuring British Muslimahs, focusing on works by Monica Ali, Leila Aboulela, Shelina Zahra Janmohamed, and others. These narratives depict young Muslim women navigating the complexities of reconciling their Muslim traditions with Western culture and the English language, striving to establish coherent identities in a challenging environment. The Islam represented in these novels serves as a source of hope and stability for the protagonists. The research also draws parallels with Muslimah literature from other Anglophone countries, highlighting a trend of amplifying young Muslim women's voices. It includes analyses of young adult fiction like Randa Abdel-Fattah’s “Does My Head Look Big In This?” and the British play “What Fatima Did...” by Atiha Sen Gupta, alongside examples from various Anglophone Muslimah texts. Positioned at the intersection of nineteenth-century fiction and twenty-first-century popular culture, these works resonate with both Western and Muslim audiences, fostering a deeper understanding of the Muslim woman beyond the veil.
