Fables (Qiṣaṣ) and Muslim Cultural Discourse in Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Qiṣaṣ, historical and moral stories told in the Quran and hadiths, are among the factors that make and reshape Muslim cultural discourse. While Quranic sources are short and often not elaborated enough to provide a context from which different scenarios could be created, Muslims rely on fables from contested sources to adapt the qiṣaṣ to various cultural environments, languages, and media. In this context, qiṣaṣ become influential not only because of the power of storytelling, but how their religious contents could be appropriated or even manipulated to suit local narratives and be used as powerful discursive tools within Muslim culture. Using aṣḥāb al kahf (the People of the Cave), a story told in the Quran, as a case study, this article looks beyond mere changes that emerged in the process of adaptations and circulations via various media (especially film) to analyzing how the changes are embedded within local Muslim discourse involving different actors and reform movements in Nigeria.