The Muslim Woman in Diaspora and the Reconstruction of Identity in Leila Aboulela’s Minaret

Identity reconstruction frequently represents a major challenge for immigrants who settle in a new land. Leila Aboulela (b. 1964) presents the complexities faced by the diaspora of Muslim women in constructing a new identity that aligns with their new reality, without forgetting or affecting their original roots. In Minaret (2005), Aboulela highlights the strength and independence of the Muslim woman through her female character, Najwa, presenting Muslim women as successful and resilient, in defiance of prevailing stereotypes. Drawing on Lila Abu-Lughod’s anthropological critique in Do Muslim Women Need Saving? alongside Homi Bhabha’s theories of hybridity and the Third Space, the study investigates how Muslim women struggle to define their agency within intersecting cultural, religious, and social pressures. This article examines Najwa’s experience of immigration as a spiritual journey that reshapes her sense of self, experiencing faith as a transformative force that displaces the burden placed on her while navigating her identity. Faith thus emerges as a source of empowerment rather than a marker of oppression. This paper has highlighted Najwa’s transformation from an open and privileged lifestyle in Sudan to that of a devout Muslim woman in the diaspora, arguing that her embrace of religious practice within a western context defies reductive ‘rescue’ discourses that portray Muslim women as inherently oppressed. Instead, Najwa’s journey demonstrates that faith can function as a conscious, chosen, and transformative form of empowerment within a diasporic space.