A Cultural Studies Approach to Understanding Islam

In today’s world, given the turmoil that sometimes seems to be caused by religious

differences, it is easy to see each religion as a monolithic entity existing separate from

other religions, and thus representing starkly polar worldviews. Often, such notions arise

as a result of not utilizing a cultural studies approach towards studying religion, which is

arguably the best approach for understanding the role of religion in one’s daily life. The

cultural studies approach, which examines the particular context in which one interprets

his or her religion, is particularly important when it comes to understanding religions like

Islam, whose adherents come from vastly different backgrounds. Through the cultural

studies approach, which is arguably much more interdisciplinary than the textual

approach, we see that one’s interpretation of religion is strongly influenced by factors

including social, political, educational, and economic aspects of life, as well as one’s

particular historical backdrop; this then makes the arts and literature a unique window by

which we can observe a particular culture’s comprehension of the religion (Infidel of

Love 10). These creative responses thus are my own response to my understanding of

Islam, and intertwined in these works, then, are not only lessons from the classroom, but

my own personal experiences, which have themselves been shaped by the economic,

social and cultural backdrop in which I have grown up.

Asides from the different cultural backdrops in which one can interpret Islam, it

is also crucial to understand the fundamental divisions that have persisted in Islam, from

Sufism, Shi’a, to Sunni groups. Understanding these different communities of

interpretation is thus cruci...

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