Recently translated into German, "Minaret" tells the story of a young Sudanese woman exiled in London who finds refuge in Islam. Award-winning author Leila Aboulela talks to Anna-Theresa Bachmann about her work, Muslim immigrants in the UK and the recent Sudanese revolution
In-betweenness and identity formation are two recurrent themes of your work. In "Minaret", readers are confronted with complex characters whose identity along the lines of class, gender and religiousness is challenged and formed over time and space. From a storytelling perspective, such complexity can be quite challenging. Why do you hold on to it?
Leila Aboulela: It mirrors my own life. My mother is Egyptian, my father Sudanese. I grew up in a house filled with differences, even though both of my parents were Muslims, Arab and African. During my childhood in Sudan, I was influenced by a country, the culture of which is in a constant struggle between being African and Arab. Then I moved to the UK and married my husband, who is half-Sudanese and half-British. To me, coming from a non-monochrome and mixed background is the norm. During the writing process, I reflect on what I know and what feels natural to me.
Aberdeen, where you still live today, is also where you first started writing, your language of choice is English, and your main readership is in the global north. Do you perceive your work as an example of what post-colonial scholars call "writing back"?
Aboulela: The concept of "writing back" can be a source of motivation. My own feelings of anger at the way Muslims were unjustly portrayed in the British media made me feel defensive and compelled me to start writing. But if you want to produce art, you want it to be more than defensive - you want it to be more than a response, it must be structured in such a way that it is self-supporting. As a result, I also think that "writing back" can be problematic.
It assumes your audience is a certain person - white and European. Looking at the profile of the people buying my books, that might certainly be the case. However, demographics change over time, more and more of my readers now are second generation immigrants, people who grew up in the West. Or they are Africans based in Africa. Or English-reading Muslims in Pakistan and the Arab world. I am writing for them too.
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In-betweenness and identity formation are two recurrent themes of your work. In "Minaret", readers are confronted with complex characters whose identity along the lines of class, gender and religiousness is challenged and formed over time and space. From a storytelling perspective, such complexity can be quite challenging. Why do you hold on to it?
Leila Aboulela: It mirrors my own life. My mother is Egyptian, my father Sudanese. I grew up in a house filled with differences, even though both of my parents were Muslims, Arab and African. During my childhood in Sudan, I was influenced by a country, the culture of which is in a constant struggle between being African and Arab. Then I moved to the UK and married my husband, who is half-Sudanese and half-British. To me, coming from a non-monochrome and mixed background is the norm. During the writing process, I reflect on what I know and what feels natural to me.
Aberdeen, where you still live today, is also where you first started writing, your language of choice is English, and your main readership is in the global north. Do you perceive your work as an example of what post-colonial scholars call "writing back"?
Aboulela: The concept of "writing back" can be a source of motivation. My own feelings of anger at the way Muslims were unjustly portrayed in the British media made me feel defensive and compelled me to start writing. But if you want to produce art, you want it to be more than defensive - you want it to be more than a response, it must be structured in such a way that it is self-supporting. As a result, I also think that "writing back" can be problematic.
It assumes your audience is a certain person - white and European. Looking at the profile of the people buying my books, that might certainly be the case. However, demographics change over time, more and more of my readers now are second generation immigrants, people who grew up in the West. Or they are Africans based in Africa. Or English-reading Muslims in Pakistan and the Arab world. I am writing for them too.
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