Abstract

Religion, as a profound and enduring dimension of human existence, significantly shapes cultural and social identity, particularly within Arab Muslim societies. Its influence extends to the arts and literature, where religious values and principles impact societal visions. This research critically analyzes the religious dimensions reflected in Jalal Barjas’s novel, Dafater al-Warraq, a recipient of the Arabic Booker Prize. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach informed by cultural criticism, the study examines the novel’s engagement with religious themes. Given the prominence of Arabic Booker Prize winners and their global reach, this study investigates the extent to which Barjas highlights religious aspects and whether these are effectively utilized or overshadowed by themes such as colonialism and cultural exploitation.
 
The reflections of religion in the novel are categorized into four primary axes: ideological, social, political, and psychological, each supported by analytical examples. The study concludes that the reflections of religion are negative, encompassing struggles against globalization, the marginalization of characters, the exploitation of religion by officials, and identity turmoil. Consequently, the research finds that the portrayal of religion in the novel is negative and subdued, and does not represent the author’s primary concern in this work.
 
Keywords: Religion, Dafater al-Warraq, Cultural Criticism, Arabic Booker Prize.
 
Extended Summary
 
1. Introduction
Religion constitutes one of the fundamental pillars in constructing Arab identity, deeply permeating various aspects of cultural, social, and political life in contemporary societies. Understanding the complex dynamics governing this reality is impossible without a meticulous examination of its manifestations and profound impacts as reflected in literary domains. In this context, the contemporary Arabic novel emerges as a critical mirror capable of capturing subtle details and latent contradictions, especially as this narrative structure has developed to address the changes and conflicts impacting social and intellectual frameworks.
 
Global literary awards, such as the Arabic Booker Prize, have further enhanced the novel’s stature and increased worldwide critical attention, opening a wider avenue for analyzing the religious discourses embedded within these works. Do these widely circulated works play a role in reviving discussions around prevailing religious concepts or in reshaping them within the collective consciousness? This question necessitates an in-depth critical analysis.
 
This paper specifically aims to analyze the reflections of religion in Jalal Barjas’s novel, The Scribe’s Notebooks (Dafatir al-Warrāq), by adopting the methodology of Cultural Criticism. This analytical approach moves beyond a superficial reading of the text, seeking to uncover the intricate relationships between literature, power, and underlying ideological values. It enables us to demonstrate how the narrative reflects current challenges in relation to religious references.
 
2. Materials & Methods
This study is founded upon the Descriptive-Analytical Method, employing Cultural Criticism as the primary analytical basis for interpreting contemporary texts. Operationally, the goal is to apply this method to the novel Dafater Al-Waraq to extract and examine how religion is reflected in the narrative structure, monitoring its impact on the text’s latent meanings and values. This approach offers a critical framework to uncover embedded power dynamics.
 
The analysis is organized through the lens of Cultural Criticism across four core axes: Religion and Ideology, Society, Politics, and Psyche. These axes ensure full coverage of the interaction between religious content and narrative structure, with each axis representing a necessary analytical angle to reveal the narrative’s sophisticated utilization of religious discourse. The research ultimately seeks to map the ideological terrain presented by the author.
 
3. Research Findings
Textual analysis revealed that the influences of religion manifest across four main domains of the study, each of which is elaborated in this section.
At the ideological level, a dialectical relationship emerges between cultural criticism and globalization. Globalization opens new horizons for critical analysis, while critics regard it as a threat to civilizational diversity and a force that imposes a homogenization of values. In this context, the intersection of religion and feminism continues to expose structural challenges faced by women against patriarchal hegemony—challenges that social movements strive to overcome.
Within the social domain, the findings indicate that social isolation and the marginalization of the poor coincide with their deprivation from active participation in core societal structures.
From a political perspective, religion in modern history is often not a governing force in itself but rather an instrument utilized by politics to secure legitimacy. Such exploitation arises when political practices deviate from the transcendent moral principles of religion.
Finally, in the psychological domain, the weakening of society’s value foundations leads to a crisis of lost religious identity, as religion plays a fundamental role in shaping individual self-awareness. The absence of such a foundation leaves a vital human need unanswered—one that calls for interdisciplinary analysis.
 
4. Discussion of Results & Conclusion
The analyses revealed a weak and often critical presence of religion in the work. At the ideological level, religion is positioned in confrontation with two modern forces: globalization and feminism. The main character outwardly aligns with certain aspects of globalization while fully harmonizing with feminism, often portraying religion as an obstacle to progress.
In the social dimension, the distancing from religion is linked to severe consequences such as isolation, depression, and criminal acts; yet the author focuses solely on the social aspects of these crises rather than offering religious solutions. From a political perspective, religion is depicted as a tool used by corrupt officials to gain legitimacy in a hypocritical society, thereby painting a bleak picture of religion’s role. Finally, the prominent psychological impact centers on the disorder and fragmentation of individual identity; an effort to restore this identity in the novel proves futile due to the lack of a strong religious foundation. These findings clearly affirm the initial hypothesis regarding the marginal presence of religion in this literary work.