Gazes, targets, (en)visions: reading Fatima Mernissi through Rey Chow

Abstract

The primary focus of this article will be the implications of the relations between the work of Rey Chow and that of Fatima Mernissi, two very different but eminently “relatable” thinkers, who have not yet been read through and in terms of each other's thought. The themes of colonialism, orientalism, ethnicity, sexism and visuality are key issues in both scholars' thinking, whose works, although faithful to the practice of deconstruction as a method of analysis, diverge on the ground of language, in terms of their writing style. In Chow and Mernissi's work, representation, vision, visibility and its politics entangle in thick power discourses, but Chow's theory unravels them, focusing on the axis between power and knowledge in discursive formations.

Keywords:

• visuality
• power
• knowledge
• sexism
• cyber-Islam
• resistance

Notes

1. As theorized by Edward Said, Orientalism is “the enormously systematic discipline by which European culture was able to manage – and even produce – the Orient politically, sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively during the post Enlightenment period”. According to Hall, because of Orientalism – which can be considered as a proper example of the discourse of “the West and the Rest” (see note 2) – “the Orient was not (and is not) a free subject of thought and action” (Said, quoted by Hall 2007, 58).

2. The discourse of “the West and the Rest” is not a geographical construct, but essentially a historical one. Precisely, by western is meant a kind of society, mainly arisen during the sixteenth century, characterized by development, industrialization, urbanization, capitalisms, secularism and modernity (Watt 1989, 185) and, finally, by women's emancipation. Consequently, in this discourse, the East is the negative of this picture, what does not correspond to this description. As is clear, the discourse of “the West and Rest” overshadows the polyphonic and multilocal character of the East that cannot be considered as a “homophonic” and “monological” territory, given the vastness of its community.

3. Writing the word “imagin-ary” using the hyphen, I want to stress the role of images in conceiving the Other. As images are often misleading and deceptive, Otherness becomes unreal, “imaginary”.

4. As the suffix “-ism” often indicates the exasperation of a concept, I refer to “cultural-isms” as theories about cultures that overemphasize one's culture in respect to the Other's one.

5. These stereotypes were identified by Daniela Conte, who carried out a qualitative research on three RAI television programs – RAI is the Italian state public television operator – broadcast from 2006 to 2008, focusing on the representation of Muslim women conveyed by the language used by journalists, politicians or common people and supported by the use of sensationalist pictures. In her research, Conte points out that when television deals with the Islamic world, the most discussed topic is the “female issue”, which usually surveys the following macro-themes: the matter of cohabitation between different cultures with a special emphasis on women, terrorism, clandestine immigration and, finally, religion – often compared with the Christian one for the different role of women.

6. I use the word “more” near the adjective “authentic” here and in the following lines in full awareness that in the postcolonial age – or neocolonial age – authenticity is an illusionary and ahistorical category, and that the “Western research of the mythical and uncontaminated space of an authentically indigenous community perpetrates the imperialist approach” (Niranjan, quoted by Chambers 2003, 85; my translation from Italian). However, my usage evokes or alludes to Derrida's appeals that one searches for the “lesser violence”.

7. Autobiography, memoir, essay: this work by Mernissi, translated into 24 languages, has been variously defined. However, I think that the most accurate description is the following one: “a necklace of fairytale vignettes strung out like semi-precious gemstones that bring the reader – through the provocative sensibility of a girl-child – into the private and very domestic harem of an old Moroccan family post-World War II. … The fairytales for adults in ‘Dreams of Trespass’ are like the classic and universal fairytales: they provide insight into the human condition and a moral framework based on our common humanity, not on a specific religion or culture” (Huff-Rousselle, n.d.).

8. Chow's image of the colonizer looking at himself/herself reflected in the natives’ gazes is very similar to the Simorgh one, often evoked by Mernissi in her works. Simorgh, which is the name of a fabulous bird described in a twelfth-century Sufi poem, is usually evoked by Mernissi to represent the ideals of democracy, peace and dialog between the countries: “The birds gathered by thousands when they heard about the magnificent beauty of a fabulous bird called Simorgh. They travelled for days and nights to reach the Simorgh and many died in the difficult trip leading them nearer to perfection. Only thirty-six survived and they arrived finally and asked the permission to see the Simorgh. They found him indeed magnificent, but what they saw was in fact a reflection of themselves. When they asked the Simorgh to unveil the secret of what they were experiencing, he told them that ‘Si’ and ‘morg’ are two Persians which mean the first the figure 36 and the last ‘bird’ and that it is their reflection, as a group of birds bound by a common desire to travel towards perfection, which creates the radiance they saw. Any group of creatures who gather together to pursue a higher goal could enjoy the dazzling effect which comes from mirroring each others' beauty” (Mernissi n.d.b).

9. Since 1997 Mernissi has been working on two main projects on the civil society: “Synergy Civique” and “Caravane Civique”. With these projects, Mernissi aims at facilitating writing workshops to enhance the communication skills of non-governmental organizations members: in return, she aims at getting material for her research on the connection between access to new technologies and growing membership in non-governmental organizations. “Caravan Civique”, instead, is a series of travelling workshops designed to teach young rural people the arts of dialog and networking, which are, for her, the tools for democratization.