REVISITING ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM: AN EXPLORATION OF WEBS OF HYPERREALITY IN FATIMA BHUTTO'S THE RUNAWAYS

Abstract

Many scholars have investigated Islamic fundamentalism using sociopolitical and ideological frameworks. Fatima Bhutto's The Runaways offers unique insights by entwining radicalization through the theoretical lens of hyperreality. In this frame of reference, we explore the extent to which the novel marks the religious extremism as a virtual construction arising from digital simulacra, such that the distinction between real and illusionary narratives has been blurred. Using hyperreality as conceived by Jean Baudrillard, the article maintains that digital propaganda, curated identities on the internet, and the fabricated valorization of jihadist ideals seem to amalgamate radicals in The Runaways. In the novel, she describes three show protagonists: Anita, Monty, and Sunny, who find the self camouflaged under personal crises behind the swath of extremist ideologies. Their radicalization, in this context, is chiefly suggested through hyperreal representations of jihad promoted and shaped through social media and digital rhetoric as opposed to lived experiences. This inquiry will focus upon the critique of the glorification of extremist ideals by online spaces through The Runaways and how it depicts creating an illusory world, which disengages from the burning assertion that it carries within. Through these hyperreal narratives, youth are entrapped into a phantom reality that promises a sense of purpose and belonging, only for it to later disclose itself as a bubble of illusion. Therefore, this study opens a discourse on Islamic fundamentalism as a hyperreal alternative that subverts established theories solely set upon socio-political grievances or doctrinal approaches to religion by instead emphasizing the power of digital media reconstructing a halo mist over identity and purpose and shaping perceptions around extremism. Such radicalization revolves around the digital representation of jihadist predisposition rather than lived experiences; through the lens of Bhutto, The Runaways presents a timely warning against the ideological baiting exercised in a digital reality; redirected through simulated realities, radicalization comes to the fore, not born out of living experience. Thus, the study advocates for deeper comprehension into how contemporary narratives of extremism are mediated by digital hyperreality.

  Keywords: Islamic Fundamentalism, Hyperreality, Radicalization, Digital Propaganda, Identity Crisis