Cultural pluralism and ideology in the Iraqi novel

Abstract

The narrative discourse has always been linked to the ideological plans that govern universal reality, and from there it proceeds to reveal the various images that support the indicative trends towards reality and its problems and circumstances. The issue of ideology is what directs the interaction between the individual and the other and thus the formation of systems and practices within environments and societies, Here, it is necessary to link the type of ideas and standards that drive various interactions and the individual and his way of living, his philosophy, his group, and his affiliation.

Perhaps the most important thing that can direct this issue is the method of managing class, factional, minority, and national reality at its various levels, which has become a living material for the parallel world that the novel presents when it is constantly inspired by what could happen in reality. Moreover, among the important issues that the novel has sponsored is the issue of cultural pluralism, identity and affiliation, especially in post-colonialism and the well-known trends that prevailed. Cultural pluralism is a concept that spread and expanded due to the gathering of immigrants in America during the twenties of the last century, here the emphasis was placed on understanding between multiple cultures through diverse ideologies, and it seems that the novelist’s discourse has sought to present images of the struggle to assimilate a culture. Among the important issues raised by the novel is the issue of cultural pluralism, identity, and belonging, especially in post-colonialism and the well-known trends that prevailed. Multiculturalism is a concept that spread and expanded due to the gathering of immigrants in America during the twenties of the last century. Here, the emphasis was placed on understanding between multiple cultures through diverse ideologies; it seems that the novelist discourse has sought to present images of the struggle of absorbing the other’s culture and trying to adapt to it by presenting multiple novel types such as the minority novel, the immigration novel, and the oral heritage novel.

The Iraqi novel did not deviate from these trends, as it can be said that it sought to present revealing images of political, religious and economic ideology and their impact on the image of cultural pluralism in its society; especially after 2003, and what the elements of cultural pluralism faced in terms of individuals, ideas, religions and minorities and the extent of interaction with ethnic relations between members of society. Moreover, it showed that cultural pluralism is not the set of cultures that govern the universe, but rather the human being itself. It also presented cultural dualisms within the framework of the dialectical relationship between the self and the other, with a distinct awareness that is resulted from the ideology that ruled the turbulent Iraqi reality.