by Khuban Omer Khan
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Nadeem Aslam's latest book The Wasted Vigil is set in Afghanistan where people of different ideologies and religion cross paths, while searching for something or someone .When I read Aslam's book I was taken aback by numerous misquotes attributed to the Quran. To find out more about Aslam, his book and why he chose to defame the Quran, especially in the current climate, I attended a reading of his novel at LUMS. I asked him, "Mr. Aslam, your fictional book is based in reality, it's not make believe right? And in it you have described the mindset of a jihadi. Now, an American journalist who has written a review of your book in the New York Times has said that 'those unfamiliar with Islam may misconstrue your characters' thoughts as being consistent with the faith'. How would you respond to this statement? Also, do you have any obligation to your reader to present an informed fictional account or can you write anything at all without any obligation to the audience of the message's veracity?" Discomfort was writ large on the faces of much of the uber-liberal audience. It was as if I had attacked the man simply by asking him why he chose to misquote the Holy Book. While Aslam struggled to answer, he was politely interrupted by the moderator, who did not want a discussion on religion (even though she had earlier commented on how the book revolves around religion) and an audience member who said, "well this is how jihadis think, it's time we accepted that." After that I was silenced. |
Continue reading Misquoting a Book in the Name of Fiction.
