Muslim-Christian Encounters on the London Stage, 1672-1823

First edition “2018” – Book: –
Muslim-Christian Encounters on the London Stage, 1672-1823

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Short Introduction

The current study focused on examining the images of the Muslim/Moors in the English theater from the seventeenth century throughout the nineteenth century. It limned that fear of Islam haunted the English playwrights’ minds (and the Westerners’ in general); as a result, their writings were characterized with radicalized subjectivity. Indeed, notorious images of the alien Muslims, backward others, which pictured them as “cruel”, “barbaric”, uncivilized and a “threat for Christianity” run across the works of four English playwrights, John Dryden (1672) Almanzor and Almahide: Or, the Conquest of Granada, Sophia Lee (1797) Almeyda, Queen of Granada, Samuel Coleridge (1797) Remorse and Felicia Hemans (1823) TheSiege of Valencia, which are the case study of this study. Such works, nevertheless, depicted holy images of the Christians, as believers and civilized human beings. Arguing against Said’s main thesis in Orientalism, which stressed the static and homogeneous representation of the Muslims and neglected their resistance, the present study shows that the English playwrights’ writings were heterogeneous, depicting the Muslim other with varying degree of negativity and subjectivity. It highlights also that the Muslim personas were able to edit out the negative stereotypes and misconceptions which were thrown over them and appear as a more purified nature and nurture than their Christian counterparts. They even took the lead and exposed the diabolic wickedness of the Christians.

Short biography

El Hacen Moulaye Ahmed completed his B.A. in English Studies at the University of Nouakchott. Later, He earned his M.A. in Applied Language Studies and Research in Higher Education from Sidi Mohamed Bin Abdellah University, Fez, Moroocco, and continued his education as a PhD candidate in Sociolinguistics at the same university. He co-authored an article entitled “Factors Influencing Female Students’ Classroom Participation: A Case Study of Mauritanian Tertiary Students.” He also co-authored another article entitled “Moroccan Parental Involvements in their Children’s Learning of English Language.” He participated in several international conferences and study days. He is working on a series of papers that examine several issues: identity, language policy, teaching and learning approaches, assessment, and research methods.