Convocatoria: noviembre 2023

Word Count: 1500

Student code: Kqy862

Concept: Identity and Community

Line of inquiry: How the suppression of individual freedom affects the life of a woman like

Marjine Strapi through the islamic religion in the graphic novel Persepolis.

"Submission to God" is the meaning of Islam; for a Muslim it is strictly so.

Islam is a monotheistic religion practiced by Muslims. This religion has been very

controversial throughout the world because its followers take to the letter all its doctrines which

are not very well seen by the west therefore, the author often uses hyperbole as a literary device

to exaggerate in words the devotion they have towards their God.

However, this was not always the case. In the autobiographical history of the graphic

novel Persepolis written by the Iranian Marjane Satrapi we can better understand the transition

of a culture and the outcome of a new indoctrination specifically in Tehran where the author of

the book was born and was able to experience firsthand the social, political and cultural change

that arose after the fall of the reign of the Shah of Persia who by then was king of a reign that

lasted more than 50 years and the arrival of the new Islamic Republic.

Like any radical change, this event was traumatic in society and as described by the

author, at that time a doctrine was imposed in which freedoms were lost, the West was

demonized and women, especially women, were oppressed in their free development of their

personalities. Violence prevailed and caused widespread intimidation in Tehran, which is today

the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Marjane Satrapi's upbringing was westernized, she was an inquisitive girl, bold and

willing to have her own voice, this in the bosom of her home meant respect for her opinions,
musical tastes especially rock and therefore she was confident to reveal her opinions without

prudence in front of the new impositions, one of them was the "scarf", chapter where the author

used prospopey to revealed the meaning of a simple object and how it marked a before and

after in the life of Muslim women; Today that "headscarf" is known as the hijab and has become

an essential element of Islamic identity, although it was not always so. In the chapter the author

explains the indignation they suffered when they wore this "headscarf" and felt the loss of their

identity and individual freedom.

Despite the violently imposed indoctrination and being only a 10 year old girl who lost

her identity, lost freedoms she had, Marjane did not lose her spiritual individuality, her belief

and faith in God her "God" remained intact despite the doubts that the repressive situation put

her through.

When Marjane in her adolescence traveled to Europe on her mother's initiative and had

to come face to face with the Catholic religion and with another more "open" culture that

seemed ideal, she was unable to understand and adapt completely.

In Europe she was an Iranian and in Tehran she was a European.

Her convictions and cultural context led her to have an identity with more deeply rooted

values, unlike what she found in Europe, openness in many aspects such as ideals and sexuality,

did not make her feel fully integrated and on the contrary, she came to miss her roots that she

questioned so much.

The current situation of Muslims is not so far from the reality that Marjane lived. Islam

more than a religion became a lifestyle for Muslims, what we can know thanks to technology

and social networks about Islam and its evolution, is through Muslim influencers who explain

in detail what Islam really means to them; how they continue to sustain a culture so questioned

by many and with them we can understand that we have also demonized Islam due to extremist
groups that as well as in all religions live their spiritual life in extremes and end up tarnishing

ideals and cultures.

One of them is Pana Arab, a Muslim influencer with more than 2.4 million followers

who explains in detail to the Latino community about Islam, and thanks to the fact that he

speaks perfect Spanish, he has clarified many doubts we have on this side of the world about

what it really means.

There is also Leana Deeb a fitness influencer with 5.1 million followers and who has

been very controversial because in the beginning she went viral precisely showing her body

and her physical evolution in sport, but from one moment to another she decided to continue

showing her content, but this time with her whole body covered. The astonishment on the part

of her followers was great, but she explained that she felt better and safer following her Muslim

convictions.

These two influencers have brought us much closer to the Muslim culture, now thanks

to them we have been able to understand that although their individual freedom for many is

repressed and for them at some point was also repressed, having lived other experiences outside

their indoctrination led them to not idealize a "free" West, They questioned what freedom

means and came to the conclusion that freedom for them is not sexual liberation or

superficiality, on the contrary, they feel freer respecting values that make them feel a fuller

connection with God and that through their culture they have well distributed roles that have

allowed them to advance as a society.

Although men have several women, the issue of sexuality is lived with more respect for

women and women have more support from men and even more if they have offspring, unlike

the Latin culture where many women must assume the role of father and mother alone.
 For Muslims today, submission to God is not a sacrifice, but rather a culture ingrained

in their behavior, behavior that for the West is reprehensible and goes beyond the limit of lack

of freedoms.

While the transition to Islam was difficult and traumatic because it was imposed

through violence, time has shown that Western ways have not been exemplary either.

However, different versions of Muslim culture can exist depending on the perspective

of those who are interested in learning more about this controversial way of living the religion.

On the one hand, it is highly criticized by the majority since it is thought that their way of living

it is quite radical, but on the other hand, not living with strong convictions has caused families

to be destroyed and society to lose the course of what it means to evolve as a family and with

established roles that allow the stability of a region in all its areas.

The graphic novel Persepolis was highly acclaimed since it captured the reality in an

original and didactic format to understand the history behind the Islamic religion.

This novel also invites us to reflect on how much we can judge a culture without

knowing very well the context that surrounds it or its history, only letting ourselves be carried

away by the little and negative that the media shows us.

Thanks to this story and the research I did, I was able to empathize more with a culture

that I did not know and that made me investigate what we are doing right and wrong on this

side of the world and to recognize that there is much to examine.