Deconstructing a Discourse: A Western Critique of the Orientalist Stereotype of the “Soulless Muslim Woman”

Authors : Bahar Karataş

Pages : 1048-1068

Doi:10.15869/itobiad.1569196

View : 57 | Download : 38

Publication Date : 2025-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :In 19th-century Western discourse, the assertion that women in Islam had no soul was deeply ingrained, particularly through the recurrent use of the word “soul.” This notion proliferated in European travel literature, missionary reports, and Orientalist writings, where Muslim Turkish women were portrayed as oppressed, invisible, and devoid of individual identity. The term “soul” became an ideological tool to portray Turkish women as closed-off, passive, and objectified beings confined to the domestic sphere. These narratives not only described the position of Ottoman women but also functioned as a rhetorical strategy to depict Islamic societies as backward and in need of Western intervention. Turkish women were often symbolized as emblems of a primitive civilization, instrumentalized to justify the civilizing mission of the West. However, not all Western observers endorsed such reductionist portrayals. Some travellers and writers offered more nuanced accounts, closely observing Ottoman women’s daily lives, social roles, and influence within their families and communities. They highlighted the autonomy and respect women enjoyed, occasionally citing Islamic sources to challenge prevailing narratives. These alternative perspectives helped uncover the complex and dynamic realities of Ottoman womanhood. The findings of this study reveal that a counter-discourse existed within Western travel narratives that resisted Orientalist stereotypes. These writings demonstrated that Ottoman women were not merely passive subjects, but active agents with social visibility, familial authority, and religiously grounded dignity. By bringing these voices to light, the study exposes the multiplicity of gender perceptions in the 19th-century Western gaze and contributes to a deeper understanding of cross-cultural representations and the limitations of Orientalist generalizations.
Keywords : İslam, Oryantalizm, Batı Söylemi, Seyyahlar, Osmanlı Devleti, Türk Kadını

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