VIRTUAL Barcelona
Abstract
This paper is a postcolonial analysis of the introduction to Ziauddin Sardar’s historical memoir Mecca the Sacred City (2014), titled The Lure of Mecca. It will discuss Sardar’s journey to Mecca and why he took the journey. It will explain why Muslims like Sardar have to make a journey to Mecca at least once in a lifetime to perform their pilgrimage which is called the Haj. How Sardar was educated and brought up to respect and revere the holy city will be analysed and discussed. This paper will examine Sardar’s writings from a Muslim postcolonial perspective. It will employ holy doctrines such as the Al Quran and the Hadith, two Muslim holy texts, the first a revelation from Allah (God) and the second the sayings and way of life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It will point out the importance of Mecca to Muslims as decreed by Allah and discussed by Sardar. How Sardar looks at and portrays the holy city is analysed by the researcher vis-à-vis this paper. It will observe the accuracy of Sardar historical and sociological view of the city and its history.
Halimah Mohamed Ali (B.A. English Language and Literature Studies (Universiti Sains Malaysia), M.A. English Lit.(University of Warwick), Ph. D. Literatures in Eng (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)) is a Senior Lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang Malaysia. She teaches a postgraduate courses. She conducts her courses in both the Malay language and the English language. Her expertise is British and Comparative Studies (Literature, Theory and Philosophy) and Public Relations and Education. She has headed many university research grants and two international grants with Turkiye.
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Monday 15th July, 2024