"Beyond Belief"

Paper Summary:

The writer states that V. S. Naipaul is an accomplished fiction writer, as well as having a great deal of experience in the non-fiction field. The effect of this seeming contradiction is to draw the reader more deeply into the lives and situations of the people being discussed. The book is actually an exploration of what life is like for followers of Islam who live in the non-Arab countries. His primary focus is on Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia.

From the Paper:

"Naipaul's motivation was to explore the way Islamic beliefs were affecting both the non-Islamic population and the Islamic population of these countries. All of the nations have an old and complex society, with many of the central precepts not a part of Muslim theology. Islamic and non-Islamic relations range from very good to very difficult, in part depending on the historical background in the specific nations. Although the cultures are ancient, many of the countries are relatively young in their present political situations. This represents another area to explore, since the recent insurgence of Islam could be a problem to a relatively new government."

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