islamic ummah as a substitute for the diaspora in leila aboulela’s novel, minaret

with the high rise of immigration in the world, diaspora or presence of the immigrants’ communities in the countries of the first world has attracted significant attention from different scholars. the theoreticians of diaspora have considered several characteristics in defining diasporan communities the most important of which is the relationship to the homeland. with regards to such a relationship scholars have always focused on dependency upon the homeland and the desire to return to it. avtar brah putting forth the idea of “homing desire” argues that many people and diasporan communities have more an internal desire for “home” as a place of security and safety rather than a return to homeland. in this paper brah’s views accompanied with the concept of islamic ummah are used to analyze minaret by leila aboulela. it is argued that in minaret a new path is suggested for the immigrant which is based on reliance on religion.