صورة فاطمة في الآداب الفرنسيّة والإسبانيّة حتّى القرن التاسع عشر

Ahlam Sbhaihat : Dept. of European Languages, The University of Jordan, Jordan

Abstract

This paper investigates Fatima’s images prior to the development of the scholarly Orientalism in the 19^th century. The researchers studied the stereotypes of Fatima in thirteen different sources written by French and Spanish travelers in their own languages. Orientalists became familiar with Fatima through their travels to Safavid Persia in the 16^th century. Although Fatima has a unique status for all Muslims, she is more mythic and sacred for Shia. The Orientalists portrayed an image of Fatima influenced by the popular Shia Persian representation and the depiction of her by their predecessors. She remained a marginal less-sacrosanct character for these travelers. She was defined in relation to Prophet Muhammad, to Ali, her husband, and to Hassan and Hussain, her two sons, because of their sacred religious status among the Twelve Imams in Shi'ite Islam.

Keywords: Image studies, Orientalism, Prophet Muhammad, Safavid state, Twelver Shia.

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