Racism And Islamophobia In Aym Zighen’s Still Moment: A Story About Faded Dreams And Forbidden Pictures

Abstract

Since September 11, 2001, Western discourse has promoted the idea that civilizations are distinct monolithic entities that can be divided into allies and adversaries and that cultures are isolated from one another. Hence, conflicts between civilizations are now occurring on a scale that has never been seen before. Still Moment by Aym Zighen deals with fundamental issues that are essential to comprehending the sociopolitical conflicts that characterize our modern world. This autobiographical novel illustrates how Islamophobia and racial profiling have increased in the United States since 9/11. The story illustrates how Muslims are viewed entirely via religious and ethnic lenses through the protagonist, a brown-skinned Algerian photographer who is classified as a terrorist. Muslims are seen as being distinct, as "Others" who pose a threat to the values and ideals that the West holds dear. This article, which draws on the discourses of postcolonialism and Islamophobia, illustrates how Zighen's story questions the very existence of civilization itself, which is the largest social group where equality is unquestionably the most important right. The world is hostile because of the "Us and Them" dichotomy which breaks humans’ union and destroys their hope for a peaceful existence.