Abstract:
Leila Aboulela writes faith driven fiction and focuses on British Muslim identity. The present paper focuses on the position of females in the Muslim world in the light of Islam in reference to the novel 'Minaret'. Islam is considered as a strict religion; especially for its female followers, but that is one side of the
argument. In this paper, 'Minaret' by the Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela has been taken up for discussion .The paper aims to discuss post colonialism as a condition affecting the lives of displaced immigrants as reflected in the character of Najwa, the female protagonist in the novel. Post-colonial criticism, which revolves around identity negotiation, diaspora and migration, has been discussed in 'Minaret'. Leila has made a daring effort to relate these with a single woman character. 'Minaret is a challenging novel which portrays how religious faith can be used as a power that eases the trauma of migration. It makes a significant contribution to how British Muslim identities are represented and how religion acts as an alternative way of achieving belonging in exile. For Aboulela, literature has a sacred status for its potentiality to create awareness of Islam and to strengthen religious identity. Aboulela's 'Minaret' is
of paramount importance if considered in the context of reclaiming religious identity, which is liberated from culturally enacted practices of the country of origin.
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