Muslim Woman Representation in Western Literature – Münevver Bartamay – Kriter Yayınları

Representing and creating an image has always been a critical issue. In the Middle Ages and earlier texts, Muslim women representations were not very different from Christian women in terms of perception and respect. She is brave as a Knight and clever enough to save the Christian hero. However, since the 18th century, an oppressed figure has occupied a central place in Western Islamic discourse, and the Muslim woman is described as a victim of the Islam. Isolation and veiling are the most obvious clues of religious oppression, in which a body of misunderstandings is built through the discourse of the literary tradition. Female characters Leila and Aziyade in the works of Lord Byron and Pierre Loti are good examples of this situation.