African Muslim Communities in Diaspora
The Quest for a Muslim Space in Ken Bugul's Le baobab fou
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9250256 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shirin Edwin (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 75-90 |
| Publication date | 2004-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Research in African Literatures (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-5210 • E-ISSN: 1527-2044 |
| Publisher | Indiana University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2979/ral.2004.35.4.75 |
| OpenAlex | W1989242398 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 5 |
The essay explores the Islamic dimension of the novel Le baobab fou (The Abandoned Baobab) by the Senegalese author Ken Bugul to demonstrate that the identity crisis felt by the protagonist Ken in the novel is not only of an African but that of an African Muslim in particular and that this psychological alienation of Muslims provoked by colonialism did not end with colonialism but continues even today as seen in Ken’s experiences in Belgium in a capitalistic and neocolonial environment. The analysis explores whether Ken as an African Muslim is allowed to create a truly multicultural space where her cultural and spiritual differences are not suppressed but allowed to co-exist through negotiation and dialogue. To this end, Ken’s experiences as a postcolonial subject assume a particular dimension: that of an African Muslim fi rst alienated by false ideologies learned in the French colonial school and later by systems such as capitalism
Diaspora · Sociology · Space (punctuation) · Theology · African cultural and philosophical studies · African history and culture studies · African Studies and Geopolitics · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Philosophy · Religious studies
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,1 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2011 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |