Discursive Resistance to Orientalism: A Critical Approach to an Ideological Justification

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate the use of language to justify an ideological stance. It uses a qualitative and an interpretive research paradigm. It aims to foreground the ideological role of discursive strategies, explore the dichotomous construction of ‘us’ and ‘them’ in a socio-political context, and determine the ideological positioning of the author.  It further seeks to foreground the importance of critical reasoning to challenging discursive hegemony and preserving identity in the contemporary world. Said’s Orientalist Theory (1978) and Wodak’s Discourse Historical Approach (2001) are used as the theoretical perspectives. DHA provides distinct discursive strategies of nomination, predication, argumentation, perspectivization, intensification, and mitigation for the analysis of ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ construction. These strategies are used as methods for data collection. Muhammad Asad’s book ‘Islam at the Crossroads’ is selected as the sample for the current study. The study supported foregrounding the ways in which ideological stance is justified and subjective positioning is neutralized through the strategic use of language. The results also revealed the importance of critical reasoning to understanding religious thought in the contemporary world. It further supported highlighting a counter-narrative to the Orientalist perspective about Islam and raising consciousness about the Islamic identity.