Handling islamophobia in Edmund Spenser's poem the Faerie Queen

Abstract EN

Being a growing religion throughout the world, Islam is increasingly becoming the ghost which threatens to shatter the established norms of the Western thinking.

Islamophobia, hence, grew as a doctrine which designates fear and antagonisms towards Islam as a religion and a system of cultural behavior.

It has been widely represented in English literature throughout various literary ages.

This paper is concerned with Islamophobia in Edmund Spenser‟s epic poem The Faerie Queene (1595), which is ranked among the greatest works in the history of English literature.

Spenser employs this work to represent his biased attitude to Christianity and to portray the tyrannous reign of Muslims.

The paper argues that Islamophobia, as a concept, is recently conjured; however it is very old as an ideology in the history of the human race since it represents the Western mindset which is based on the prejudice and hatred of the „other.

‟ The faerie Queen, which is set in the medieval ages, reflects a religious antagonism towards Muslims who achieved great victories over the Crusaders in Jerusalem.

The paper, for this reason, questions whether the term of Islamophobia which is a modern one is fit to describe the prejudiced tone against Muslims in a sixteenth century work.

It employs Edward Said‟s discourse of the binary opposition, which has been tackled in his outstanding book Orientalism, as a theoretical framework.

It also comes across his book covering Islam in order to argue that Islam has been portrayed as a „form of heresy‟, synonymous with terrorism and religious Being a growing religion throughout the world, Islam is increasingly becoming the ghost which threatens to shatter the established norms of the Western thinking.

Islamophobia, hence, grew as a doctrine which designates fear and antagonisms towards Islam as a religion and a system of cultural behavior.

It has been widely represented in English literature throughout various literary ages.

This paper is concerned with Islamophobia in Edmund Spenser‟s epic poem The Faerie Queene (1595), which is ranked among the greatest works in the history of English literature.

Spenser employs this work to represent his biased attitude to Christianity and to portray the tyrannous reign of Muslims.

The paper argues that Islamophobia, as a concept, is recently conjured; however it is very old as an ideology in the history of the human race since it represents the Western mindset which is based on the prejudice and hatred of the „other.

‟ The faerie Queen, which is set in the medieval ages, reflects a religious antagonism towards Muslims who achieved great victories over the Crusaders in Jerusalem.

The paper, for this reason, questions whether the term of Islamophobia which is a modern one is fit to describe the prejudiced tone against Muslims in a sixteenth century work.

It employs Edward Said‟s discourse of the binary opposition, which has been tackled in his outstanding book Orientalism, as a theoretical framework.

It also comes across his book covering Islam in order to argue that Islam has been portrayed as a „form of heresy‟, synonymous with terrorism and religious hysteria.