Islam and the West: Civilizations in Conflict?
The story of The Order of Light revolves around a young Pakistani-American who along with his Indian roommate enrolls in a language institute in Cairo to study Arabic. As they start their course, the Western-educated Pakistani-American frequently finds himself torn between the faith he was born into and the culture he was brought up in. At home he is reminded of prayer time though he often skips it. On the street, he encounters beautiful Egyptian girls whom he chases. The setting of Cairo evokes the glorious history of Salah al-Din and Egypt's present abasement at the hands of the West. He asks numerous questions to himself and others and in confusion aimlessly frequents Cairo streets. The story takes a turn when one such episode brings him to a dilapidated mosque where he chances upon something quite unexpected--a gathering of five men who declare themselves to be members of 'The Order of Light.' They claim to come from the future, saying they are the descendants of Salah al-Din's twelfth-century Kurdish retinue. Egypt, they say, is not the city it should have been and Cairenes are possessed by others. To redeem the glory, the only way would be to commit suicide. The young Pakistani joins in their discussions and raises questions regarding the rationality of their stance. In the process, he sometimes feels captivated by their teachings and sometimes becomes cynical. He decides to move away from the Order but seems to bump into its members wherever he goes. Are they planning suicide soon? Will Cairo turn into a city of chaos and destruction? To know the answers the reader should read the book.
But the danger of boredom arises as one goes through the book since the writer takes fairly long to set the context. However, once he settles down he delves deep. His treatment straddles Islamic and Western perspectives thoroughly. Through the protagonist's reflections, he asks Muslims to be self-critical. But he also raises questions if that is enough. He gestures at the onslaught of Western values in every corner of the globe. An embittered character observes, "First they separated God from the political sphere, calling this political secularism. Then they separated God from the economic sphere, calling this economic secularism. They did this, bit by bit, till we became entirely deconstructed, told [us] that we could still cherish our belief in God, though without any way of realizing it." Don't think, however, that the book is full of such down-to-earth stuff. The writer is also fond of wit, quips and repartees. Here is one on America, for instance, "One day they'll be sitting in a café with so much coffee but no friends."
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. A novel that deals with an issue as complex as Islam and modernity will not rely on strength of plot design and characterization alone. So the reader should not expect to read a thrilling story with characters that makes one ruminate over them. Here the story is told from largely one man's perspective, and he happens to be both the narrator and protagonist. He takes part in events throughout and reflects on them all along, leaving little space for the reader to interpret for oneself. The only stylistic novelty of the narrative is that the story is also told by the protagonist's friend, Harris. This gives a good idea about how the same incident looks to different persons. However, in dealing with the issue the writer seems to prefer clashes within an individual rather than among many people. He does this by creating a character that represents opposing values of life. The setting of Cairo also enables him to reflect the conflict between the past glory of Islam and its present metamorphosis into a city that looks vaguely Western.
One caveat if you choose to read the book is it presupposes quite a bit of historical knowledge on the part of the reader. Only then can one empathize with the characters. Perhaps it's because of such empathy that Haroon Moghul can justify undertaking such a project.
Comments