Naipaul and the Historiography of Islam in his Travelogues on Islamic Regions

V. S. Naipaul is a traveler and fiction writer whose expeditional journeys across the Islamic zone of the Middle East and Asia have given birth to several controversial travelogues on the target regions and their histories. However, a close analysis of his travel books with regard to the reliable sources of the history of Islam turns them into semi-fictional fabrications in which the events and characters ensue more from the mind of the traveler rather than his unbiased observation and true depiction. This kind of confusion originates from the writer’s dexterity in fiction writing and the subtle border between fiction and reality. Hence, the fictional aspect of his writing dominates his depiction of facts, creating the semi-fictional atmosphere for his readers instead of factual reflection of events. His most referred source being Chachanama limits his outlook, depreciating his judgment as reliable and acceptable study of Islam and Muslims.

Keywords:

History of Islam , V. S. Naipaul , Travel Writing , Fiction , Reality , Islamic Regions in Asia and the Middle East , Iran , Pakistan , and India