Crossing Spaces: A Sufi Reading of the Postcolonial Status in Elif Shafak''''s Novel The Forty Rules of Love

Document Type : Original Article

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Abstract

This study attempts to highlight the logical relation between Sufism and postcolonialism in Elif Shafak''s The Forty Rules of Love (2009). In her novel, Shafak portrays Sufism as a peaceful equilibrium that combines opposed features of life and gives its followers a second chance to live and enjoy life, away from fanaticism and social prejudices. This study shows that the polysemous nature of postcolonialism matches the Sufi multi-levelled mood of thinking or perception of religions, especially Islam. Both offer healing spaces for the marginalized and the oppressed and a new hope for liberation from the suppressive practices of the colonizer. Both represent a refuge or a space of resistance to any inflexible dominating power.

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  • Receive Date: 09 October 2016
  • Revise Date: 18 October 2016
  • Accept Date: 17 November 2016

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