Allusions to Islam in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic verses

ENGLISH:

The freedom of expression in literature has been much known since literature is assumed as a free value work. Everyone is able to freely express his idea with his own way. This matter, sometime, makes literature uncontrolled because it goes too far more than its own capacity. The freedom in literature should have a clear limitation that it will not oppose or even break other norms, values, or discipline of knowledge as the happening on the publication of Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses that causes much controversy.

The novel, which is written in many forms of allusion, contains many complex themes of story. The extended dream is one of sub-plot which dominates the story. It may be the main idea of writing the novel to re-narrate the history of Islam in another version. This novel has provoked Moslem all over the world to protest for its blasphemous allusions addressed to Islam. The relation between both runs unequally in which the prophet Muhammad is figured out by Mahound, the imperfect prophet that pawns his belief for a high position in the government of Jahilia. Of course, the story in the novel is very harmful that makes Islam becomes a contemptible religion. Thus, this study is aimed at finding the allusive references that refer to Islam as portrayed in the novel. The researcher, then, tries to compare between those allusions found in the novel and that in the real history and doctrines of Islam.

To be able to achieve the above objectives of the study, the researcher applies comparative literature approach which insists on comparing the novel with the Islamic references. This study is categorized as literary criticism since it is emphasized on the analysis of literary work. The primary data of this study are collected from Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, and the secondary data are taken from all references which relate to allusion, Islam, and the biography of Salman Rushdie, especially that relates to the background of writing the novel.

As result of the researcher’s analysis, Rushdie’s allusion that are addressed to Islam as reflected in the novel takes four forms i.e. names, doctrines, history, and sacred places. Such popular Islamic figures that some of them are humiliated by the adorned absurd characters, the absolute Islamic fundamental doctrines taught by Mahound are adopted from the prophet Muhammad’s teaching. The God’s revelations of dogma that revealed to the prophet Muhammad are what the angel Gibreel has conveyed to Mahound. Then, the researcher concludes that the allusions in the novel are truly addressed to Islam, though some of them do not represent equally.