The Representation of Islam in Contemporary Arab Immigrant Drama

Abstract

The image of Islam has not always been reflected objectively, especially by Western authors and media writers due to sly hidden political agendas. These hidden agendas clearly spring from the white man‟s persistent endeavors to place himself as the eternal superior race. Also, such „subordinating‟ attempts aim at the exploitation of the Arabic Islamic region for the eventual acquisition of Arabic resources, mainly oil. As a result, some Arabic Muslim writers have made it their duty to echo a more credible portrayal of Islam. Their attempts to do so are carried out by tackling every-day heated issues and occurrences taking place on the streets of the USA and the UK, all under the umbrella of Islam. With that being said, this article sheds light on such devilish attempts by drawing a comparison between three contemporary plays authored by Arab immigrant writers living in the West. The plays under consideration are: Roar (2005) by Palestinian-American playwright Betty Shamieh, Good Muslim Boy (2015) by Iraqi-Australian playwright Osamah Sami and Back of the Throat (2017) by Egyptian-American playwright Yussef El Guindi.