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‘Hunting for Muhammad’: Feby Indirani seeks to transcend political polarization
Indonesian writer Feby Indirani attempts to go beyond ideological polarization by presenting the complex nuances of current sociopolitical lives through her work.
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Hot off the press: In her latest book, 'Memburu Muhammad' (Hunting for Muhammad), author Feby Indirani stays true to her surreal and absurd interpretations of Indonesian Muslims’ everyday lives. (Courtesy of Bentang Pustaka/-)
F
eby Indirani has distinguished herself as an author who is capable of presenting the lives of Indonesian Muslims through an intimate and sympathetic eye.
Although her short stories, particularly the ones published in her debut anthology Bukan Perawan Maria (Not the Virgin Mary, 2017), also tackle the tricky issue of Islamic fundamentalism, she is able to capture the complex nuances of the Muslim fundamentalists' lives.
The stories in the first anthology consist of various tales, ranging from a woman who realizes she has lost her nose after wearing a niqab for quite a long time to a very devout Muslim who is shocked upon being questioned by angels in his native language instead of in Arabic.
Feby herself has branded her literary style as “magical Islamism”: an endeavor to capture the surreal and absurd in people’s everyday lives, tinged with fantasy, horror and comedy.
Her stories also counterbalance the stereotypical Western media portrayal of Indonesian Muslims, particularly the fundamentalists, as “extremists” or “radicals”.
It is encouraging that her first anthology has reached Western audiences through English, Dutch, Italian and German translations to present a different face of Indonesian Muslims.
Through her short stories, she is able to present these individuals as those who would sincerely like to practice their religious faith yet unfortunately get caught up in and confused by ruthless national political machineries.
