Arabic Literature

Representation of Violence and Analysis of the Novel "Azra Senjar" by Ward Badr al-Salem (Based on Slavoj Žižek's Theory of Violence)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

mojtaba zareie 1
Abulhasan Amin Moghadasi 2
masoma shabestari 2
gholamabbas rezaee haftadar 3

1 University of Tehran

2 university of tehran

3 univesity of tehran

https://doi.org/10.22059/jalit.2025.392143.612940
Abstract
Abstract:

The violence stemming from war endures over time within society, and its impacts are reflected in artistic works in various forms. This violence, as a suppressive element within power relations, reveals the two contrasting faces of the dominant and the submissive. The novel "The Virgin of Sinjar" by Ward Badr al-Salem addresses the genocide of the Yazidis in 2014 by ISIS and is recognized as one of the first literary efforts to depict the situation of the Yazidis in this genocide. The extent of violence and assaults against the Yazidis became the central theme for several Arab novelists.

Using a descriptive-analytical method, this research represents and analyzes the various dimensions of ISIS's violence against the Yazidis from the perspective of Slavoj Žižek, aiming to show how different layers of violence are represented in the novel "The Virgin of Sinjar". Žižek emphasizes the hidden aspects of violence and considers explicit violence to be the result of hidden violence. Structural, ideological, and cultural violence are among the hidden dimensions that can lead to explicit violence.

The research illustrates that ISIS, with religious justifications and the philosophy of "the end justifies the means," exercises proactive violence, which is the result of the interaction of reactive and systemic violence. Using mythical violence, ISIS establishes its desired order and commits numerous atrocities. Žižek's theory demonstrates that ISIS's violence is a function of the systemic violence stemming from global capitalism and complex social, economic, and political interactions.

Keywords

Slavoj Žižek
ISIS
The Virgin of Sinjar
violence
Yazidis
Subjects
Arabic Literature

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 10 July 2025

  • Receive Date 19 March 2025
  • Revise Date 31 May 2025
  • Accept Date 30 June 2025

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