Studies on Arabic Language and Literature

Power Discourse in Najib Al-Kilani’s Novel Giants of the North Based on Michel Foucault’s Theory

https://doi.org/10.22075/lasem.2026.40210.1530
Volume 16, Issue 42
Volume 16, Issue 42, Fall 2025 and Winter 2026
March 2026
Pages 373-406
Studies on Arabic Language and Literature

Document Type : Scientific- Research Article

Author

Hamed Poorheshmati Dargah

Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Guilan, Iran.

Abstract
Power discourse is a fundamental instrument through which power reproduces representations and perceptions that diverge from those established in classical political thought. From Michel Foucault’s perspective, power is neither confined to an individual or a specific class nor a form of ownership that can be possessed or exercised from a particular center. Rather, it constitutes a network of intertwined relations embedded within the social fabric, operating through a range of mechanisms and everyday techniques that shape individuals and reorganize their behaviors and systems of representation. Najib Al-Kilani’s novel Giants of the North portrays the suffering and turmoil endured by Muslims in Nigeria during the 1960s and highlights the role of missionary campaigns and certain foreign interest groups in intensifying conflicts and fueling tensions among the country’s diverse ethnic groups. The novel also exposes the decentralized and diffuse nature of power, illustrating its manifestations across discourse, institutions, the body, the economy, and religion. Moreover, it underscores that any analysis of power within the text remains incomplete without a thorough understanding of the dynamics of resistance operating within these spheres of power. Consequently, the novel serves as a suitable model for a Foucauldian reading, illuminating the interplay between mechanisms of control and discipline and the various forms of resistance within the social and cultural context depicted in the text. This study, employing a descriptive–analytical method, examines the principal components of power discourse in the novel from Michel Foucault’s perspective. The findings indicate that power discourse in the novel is grounded in a network of social distinctions that confer legitimacy and mechanisms of control to specific groups, reproducing their privileges not through direct coercion but through symbols and cultural practices. Furthermore, the novel depicts the persistent presence of colonial power, operating through hidden mechanisms manifested in laws, discourses, and the economic system. It also demonstrates that power is distributed across diverse social relations, ranging from nightclubs to political conflicts.

Keywords

Michel Foucault
power discourse
Contemporary novel
Najib Al-Kilani
"
Giants of the North"
Subjects

  1. The Sources and References

    A: Books

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    B: Journal Articles

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    8. Sarbaz H, Ahmadpour M, Ghaderi G. An analysis of religious intertextuality in Najib al-Kilani's novel Amaleqat al-Shamal. Biannual Journal of Islamic Literature Studies. 2023;2(2):73–97. [In Persian].
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    C: Thesis

    Oktaviana I. Social Conflict in Najib al-Kilani's Novel Giants of the North from Karl Marx's Perspective (A Study of Social Literature). Bachelor's thesis. Malang (Indonesia): State Islamic University of Maulana Malik Ibrahim; 2022.

  • Receive Date 29 December 2025
  • Revise Date 28 February 2026
  • Accept Date 11 March 2026
  • Publish Date 01 March 2026

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