Deconstructing Orientalist Representation of The East in Yasmina Khadra’s Sirens of Baghdad

Abstract

Because of the blatant, direct persecution, and misrepresentation of all Iraqis, which comes from an Orientalist’s ignorant perception of the Orient (Iraqi), this study will be conducted to show the different misrepresentations of Arabs and Iraqis by the American tropes in a novel entitled The Sirens of Baghdad written by an Algerian novelist, Khadra Yasmina. The current study explores orientalists’ misrepresentation and the Western gaze towards the Middle East, especially the Iraqi character. Khadra portrays the complex life of Iraqis during the invasion of 2003, in the context of us versus them. Drawing on the critical framework of Orientalism theory by the theorist Edward Said, this paper examines how Sirens of Baghdad deconstructs Orientalist representations by giving voice to marginalized perspectives and resisting the erasure of local knowledge and agency. Khadra's narrative subverts simplistic depictions of “Islamic extremism”, highlighting the multifaceted social, political, and psychological factors that shape an individual's path towards violence and, ultimately, the possibility of redemption and nonviolent resistance. The study emphasizes the importance of embracing nonviolent resistance which represents a powerful alternative to the spiral of violence, gesturing towards the possibility of reconciliation and moral progress.