Religion and Identity in Ayad Akhtar’s <i>American Dervish</i>: A Cultural Study

Abstract

This study examines the clash between the religious and social aspects of Muslim’s life in Ayad Akhtar's debut novel, American Dervish . The novel expounds the failure of the Muslim character, Hayat Shah, to integrate himself into a new communal life as he still holds on the remnant beliefs he has acquired from his earlier life in Pakistan, his home country. Hayat embodies the newer generation whereas his father embodies the older one. They behave identically in pursuing the similar way in that Hayat discovers his self in befriending the Jewish girl Rachel and in giving up the Islamic creeds, taught by his mentor Mina; simultaneously, his father discovers his individuality in accompanying his lifetime workmate, Nathan Wolfsohn, a Jewish professor. Ayad Akhtar intends to highlight the behaviour of the immigrants, who face the teething difficulties in their lives until they discover a way to integrate themselves into their new community. The study adopts the cultural approach in analysing the novel.