An Analysis of Islamophobia from an Orientalist Perspective in E.M Forster’s A Passage to India

Abstract

E.M Forster’s A Passage to India engages in rampant Islamophobia by depicting Muslim
characters from an Orientalist viewpoint that is not grounded in reality, but rather an
imagined set of principles that may seem progressive in their exploration of Muslim
characters but ultimately fails under any literary scrutiny. His writing falls into many
orientalist tropes such as religious mysticism, a misunderstanding of the cultures he tries
to write about, a language of depreciation for Indians, and an Islamophobic worldview
that colors the interiority of all his characters. Dr. Aziz, who serves as a protagonist,
reflects all of Forster's unconscious colonial biases. This novel, while ultimately
conveying an anti-colonial message, remains part of a larger colonial text for religious,
historical, and political reasons.