The representation of Islam in E. M. Forster's a passage to India

الملخص EN

The paper attempts to trace the ways Islam is represented in Forster's A Passage to India to see whether Forster's method of representation is in conformity with preconceived ideas that portray Islam in a negative light or there is an attempt to depart from the norm.

The paper argues th~t Islam, as it existed in India under British rule, is more represented as a culture.

Required to give individualsa sense of social belonging.

rather than a religion that such individuals are bound 10 practice.

The ways Forster deals with various Islamic practices, such as the veil.

reveal his views of Islam.

He sees the veil as a social convention rather than a religious obligation.

He also regards other practices as remnants of the past that do not tit into the present, and for that Aziz eventually has to reject the practicality of Islam, While the novelist traces the fading phases of a practical religion reflectedin the diffusion of its adhan and in Forster's imposition of a secular stand, the paper argues that , contrary to Forster's expectation Ih~1 Islam is dying out.

it is becoming more forceful due to the current spirit of revival, The West has to deal with lslarn now in a way that differs from the past.

That will require a faithful look at methods of representation of Islam by Muslims themselves first and Westerners 100.

The paper therefore sees correct representation of Islam as one of the means to remove misconceptions.

eliminate threat and build bridges of communication between Islam and the West.