Postcolonial Islam in My Son the Fanatic: From Deobandi Revivalism to the Secular Transposition of the Sufi Imaginary

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

in line 897, where it is said "as he buries his buries his head in her shoulder", ut must be said "as he buries his head in her  shoulder".

In 1997, a short story by Hanif Kureishi, entitled "My Son the Fanatic" was published, focusing on the tensions between a father, Parvez, a Pakistani immigrant in postcolonial England, and his son Ali, who rejects the Western culture and becomes a radical Islamist. That same year, a film adaptation was made, My Son the Fanatic, directed by Udayan Prased, where the conflict raised in the short story is resolved to the last consequences. The article focuses on explaining the origin and development of the conflict between Parvez and his son Ali in the film. In this regard, in the author's opinion, while Ali behaves according to the principles of Deobandi revivalism, of Hindu origin, which has exerted a notable influence among radical Islamist circles in many countries of the world, Parvez's behavior would be based on transfer to the secular sphere the Sufi ethics of Ihsan, which advocates the cultivation of good and beauty. This is the main contribution of the article, written in elegant and clear English, very easy to read, also supported by a very extensive and updated bibliography. His conclusions summarize well the fundamental points of the behavior of the two main characters through the symbolic analysis of the final scenes of the film.

Author Response

The reviewer's comments and kind attention are much appreciated. I have corrected the error of repetition in line 897.

Reviewer 2 Report

This is an excellent paper that merits publication in Humanities. While deeply attentive to the cinematic aspects of My Son the Fanatic, it contextualizes the film in the conflict between fundamentalist and Salafist Deobandi religiosity and the more humanistic and ethical stance of Sufi spirituality. Rich footnotes, amounting to almost a curriculum in the Deobandi and Sufi orientations, convincingly sustain the theme that the film’s visual and auditory elements reflect tropes and themes from the Sufi imaginary. The lead character, Parvez, thus emerges not as an immigrant caught between two worlds, but as a possible harbinger of a new form of universalistic spirituality.

I have only one very minor suggestion (I would not call it a criticism). The author(s) might somewhat deepen the sociological significance of the conflict between Parvez and his son Farid. It is certainly correct to observe “that it is Farid’s indignation at . . . British racial prejudice that prompts his sudden interest in a conservative form of Islam” (lines 172-3). But father and son are also very differently positioned. We may presume that for Parvez immigration to England represented a liberating freedom from both economic distress and a repressive religious environment. (This is symbolized by his fondness for jazz and rhythm-and-blues music.) The son understandably takes all this for granted. His father’s relative economic status has given him a comfortable home and the prospects of both further education and marriage to a higher status English woman. But this same measure of social progress has made him justifiably resentful of the gaps that remain, specifically of the entrenched racism that his father has had to learn to ignore. Thus, the film is very much about the ways in which successive immigrant generations react to the developing circumstances around them.

The manuscript seems to be very free of typographical errors, with one small exception: “As Parvez drive past sex workers. . .” (lines 345-46) should read “As Parvez drives past sex workers. . .” 

Author Response

The reviewer's generous remarks and careful attention are much appreciated. I have added a footnote at lines 172-73 acknowledging the possibility for deepening sociological analysis of My Son the Fanatic and providing references to scholarly materials that help in this regard. In this regard, I have added Tariq Modood's book to the bibliography. I have also reproofed the essay very carefully and corrected the error in line 345-46, as well as other grammatical and related infelicities.