TREACHEROUS TRAVELOGUE: REPRESENTATIONS OF MALAY MUSLIMS IN V.S. NAIPAUL’S AMONG THE BELIEVERS

Abstract

This article analyses representations of Muslims, in general and Malaysian Muslims, in particular, based on the travelogue by the Indian-Trinidad author, V.S. Naipaul and responds to some of the claims made by him. Naipaul’s two travelogues, Among the Believers (1981) and Beyond Belief (1997) are based on his visits to four Muslim-majority countries, namely Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia.Among the Believers is the first narrative of Naipaul’s visits and Beyond Belief is the sequel of the same countries he again revisited. The analysis is based on the theory of Orientalism (1978) by Edward Said but elaborated further to include the concept of Islamophobia as an extension of the same theory. This is in order to dissect contemporary phenomenon which now involves non-Europeans as the practiser of Orientalism. However, this article focuses on only Among the Believers in the way Naipaul misrepresents the Malay Muslims in his travel to Malaysiabased on meetings with a few Malay Muslims of different backgrounds. The article concludes that Naipaul’s narrative is mostly superficial and prejudiced interpretations of the religion and its people colored by his enmity towards Islam, in general. The implication of the study indicates that Naipaul has failed to be an objective observer as his narrative brush is tainted by his own Orientalistideology and Islamophobic views.