The Star, the Cross, and the Crescent

Religions and Conflicts in Francophone Literature from the Arab World

By (author) Carine Bourget

Publication date:

15 February 2010

Length of book:

206 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739126578

The Star, the Cross, and the Crescent analyzes fiction, films, comics, autobiographical narratives, and essays by Francophone Arab writers whose Christian (Accad, Antaki, Chédid, Maalouf), Jewish (Albou, Cixous, El Maleh, Memmi), Muslim (Bachi, Benaïssa, Benguigui, Ben Jelloun, Boudjedra, Boudjellal, Meddeb, Mimouni), and secular (Sebbar) backgrounds are emblematic of the diversity of the Francophone Arab world. It examines how these writers represent the intertwining of religion and politics against the backdrop of the current international political context and the resurgence of religion. Focusing on a series of disputes commonly framed in religious terms (with Islam as the common denominator for all: the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Lebanese and the Algerian civil wars, the affair of the Muslim headscarf in France, and 9/11), this book questions the effectiveness of the Francophone studies model in providing insights into the complexity of the Islamic Revival. The study concludes by unpacking the influence of politics on the translation of these works in the U.S. It brings heightened awareness to the modalities according to which a creative work can serve as a cultural mediator.

Chapter 1 Introduction: Religion, Politics, and Literature in the Francophone Arab World
Chapter 2 The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Amin Maalouf's Les Croisades vues par les Arabes and Les Echelles du Levant, Myriam Antaki's Les Versets du pardon
Chapter 3 The Arab-Israeli Conflict Beyond the Middle East: Albert Memmi, Edmond Amran El Maleh, Farid Boudjellal, and Karin Albou
Chapter 4 The Lebanese Civil War: Andrée Chédid's La maison sans racines and Evelyne Accad's L'Excisée
Chapter 5 The Algerian Civil War: Rachid Boudjedra's Le FIS de la haine, Rachid Mimouni's De la barbarie en général et de l'intégrisme en particulier, and Une enfance algérienne
Chapter 6 Islam and the French Republic: The Affair of the Muslim Headscarf in works by Tahar Ben Jelloun, Abdelwahab Meddeb, Amin Maalouf, Albert Memmi, Leïla Sebbar, and Yamina Benguigui
Chapter 7 Portrait of a Terrorist: Slimane Benaïssa and Salim Bachi's 9/11 Novels
Chapter 8 The Politics of Translation: Francophone Literature from the Arab World in the U.S.

Bourget (Univ. of Arizona) looks at contentious cultural, historical, religious, and political issues that have marked the works of Francophone authors in Arab, Christian, and Jewish North Africa and in the Middle East. Though the title reveals that the book encompasses three major religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—the last of these weaves into most discussions and serves as a backdrop for the entire book. The author investigates most of the current controversies surrounding Islam (e.g., terrorism, the headscarf) and discusses how Arab authors contend with Islam as a subject, given recent negative attention to Muslims in the Western world. Bourget also addresses the ways Western readers receive Francophone Arab authors and considers the political implications for Western publishers who invest in such titles. The particular strength of Bourget's book is its accessibility to nonspecialists, who may be provoked to read further on the subject. The book also serves as a mini survey for experts in the field, who will appreciate the discussion of unresolved questions that have defined the relationship between the European/North American alliance and the Muslim, particularly the Arab, world. Highly recommended.