ABSTRACT
On the more specific issue of postcolonialism's relation to Islam, Anouar Majid raised doubts concerning secular postcolonial intellectuals' qualifications for speaking up for Muslims in the struggles over Islam in which the West engages. Postcolonial theories were imbricated in values affiliated to Western paradigms of progress and development, which Muslims of various orientations have not always readily accepted as applicable to their beliefs. Given that Rushdie and Kureishi are considered postcolonial writers, positioning themselves firmly on the side of Western secularism would appear to set postcolonial writing and Islam in binary opposition. First and foremost, great pressure is placed on Muslim migrants to be secular: 'Any type of practicing Muslim represents the potential for fundamentalism'. Postcolonial writers may continue to express secular values but in a more nuanced manner, recognizing the propensity to associate the secular with anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant discourse.
