Britain Through Muslim Eyes: Literary Representations, 1780–1988

277 Pages·2015·1.462 MB·English

by  Claire Chambers (auth.)

BRITAIN THROUGH
MUSLIM EYES
LITERARY REPRESENTATIONS, 1780–1988
Claire Chambers
Britain Through Muslim Eyes
Also by Claire Chambers:
BRITISH MUSLIM FICTIONS: Interviews with Contemporary Writers
IMAGINING MUSLIMS IN SOUTH ASIA AND THE DIASPORA: Secularism,
Religion, Representations (co-edited by Claire Chambers and Caroline Herbert)
Britain Through
Muslim Eyes
Literary Representations, 1780–1988
Claire Chambers
Lecturer in Global Literature, University of York, UK
© Clai re Chambers 2015
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-0-230-25259-2
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ISBN 978-1-349-55504-8 ISBN 978-1-137-31531-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137315311
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Note on Names xi
Introduction 1
Part I Travelling Autobiography
1 Orientalism in Reverse: Early Muslim Travel Accounts
of Britain 21
Introduction 21
Mirza Sheikh I’tesamuddin 25
Sake Dean Mahomed 28
Mirza Abu Taleb Khan 32
Najaf Koolee Meerza (with Reeza Koolee Meerza and
Taymoor Meerza) 40
Conclusion 46
2 ‘Truly a person progresses by travelling and interacting with
different peoples’: Travelogues and Life Writing of
the Twentieth Century 50
Introduction 50
Atiya Fyzee and Maimoona Sultan 52
Aga Khan III, Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah 65
Zulfikar Ghose 71
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra 83
Conclusion 90
Part II Travelling Fiction
3 ‘I haf been to Cambridge!’: Muslim Fictional
Representations of Britain, 1855–1944 95
Introduction 95
Ahmad Fā ris al-Shidyā q 98
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall 106
Sajjad Zaheer 120
Yahya Hakki 132
Conclusion 141
vii
viii Contents
4 ‘England-Returned’: British Muslim Fiction of
the 1950s and 1960s 143
Introduction 143
Qurratulain Hyder 146
Attia Hosain 162
Ghulam Abbas 172
Tayeb Salih 176
Conclusion 188
5 Myth of Return Fiction of the 1970s and 1980s:
‘A bit of this and a bit of that’ 189
Introduction 189
Tariq Mehmood and Abdullah Hussein 191
Ahdaf Soueif 201
Abdulrazak Gurnah 211
Conclusion 216
The Myth of Conclusion 218
Notes 223
Bibliography 235
Index 258
Acknowledgements
This book was conceived, along with our younger son, in 2005. When
I found out that three of the four 7/7 bombers came from or had strong
connections to Beeston, I shared the shock, incomprehension, and
anger felt by most inhabitants of West Yorkshire – Muslim and non-
Muslim alike. The researcher in me also felt chastened that I had been
researching South Asia and its diaspora for years but didn’t know what
was going on in my in my home city of Leeds. A desire to bring my
research home led me to the triptych of books about Muslims in Britain
with which I am currently engaged. It has been a long journey through
childbirth, subsequent ill health, and two other books to get to this
monograph, the one I wanted to write all along.
There are so many people I want to thank for helping me along the
way that these acknowledgements should be the length of War and Peace.
Sumita Mukherjee suggested some crucial reading materials early on and
her excellent monograph furnished me with the concept of the ‘England-
returned’, which came to play such an important part in this book. Her
co-editor of South Asian Resistances in Britain, Rehana Ahmed, also made
valuable reading suggestions, as did Muneeza Shamsie, Aamer Hussein,
Tabish Khair, and Javed Majeed. Aamer also gave advice on Urdu and read
whole chapters of this book – as always, his enthusiasm, fascinating conver-
sations, and breadth of reading were inspirational. Edward Powell read the
whole book in draft, while C. L. Innes, Alex Tickell, and Rachel Farebrother
offered incisive advice on particular chapters. I am also indebted to my
colleagues Geoff Nash, Sarah Brouillette, Lindsey Moore, and Sharmani
Patricia Gabriel for looking at particular sections and giving judicious help.
The Department of English and Related Literature was generous in its
support, both in terms of research funding and the term’s sabbatical that
enabled me to finish Britain Through Muslim Eyes. I want to single out
four colleagues for particular thanks: James Williams, Ziad Elmarsafy,
Derek Attridge, and David Attwell. The first three were kind enough to
read sections or chapters, while David has been a supportive and gener-
ous Head of Department throughout. I have also learnt a great deal from
interactions with my students on the modules British Muslim Fictions
(Leeds Met), Postcolonial Writing (York), and Imagining Muslims (York),
especially Jen and Matt Bowes-Graham, Jack Robirosa, Gareth Tan,
Hannah Kershaw, Ellen Greenwood, Edward Grande, and Sibyl Adam.
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