The Secular Side of Islam: a Case Study of Tariq Ali’s Islam Quintet

Abstract

The present study discusses the secular side of Islamic civilization in Tariq Ali’s Islam Quintet. Against the misrepresentation of Islam in the western discourse, Ali’s Islam Quintet depicts the past history of Muslims that highlights the secular, tolerant, pluralistic and intellectual side of the Islamic civilization. The study is qualitative in nature. The technique of content analysis was used to analyse the texts of three novels – Shadows of the pomegranate tree, The Book of Saladin, A Sultan in Palermo – of Islam Quintet to argue that the author deconstructs the western notions about Islam and retells the history from other’s perspective. The analysis of the Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree demonstrates that the Muslims of Banu Hudayl lived secular lives and their actions and decisions were determined by material and economic motives. Furthermore, the study highlights the intellectual, rational, tolerant and secular side of some significant historical and fictional characters in “the Book of Saladin” and “a Sultan in Palermo”.

Keywords: Christian Europe, Islamic civilization, Islam Quintet, Orientalism, Secular aspect