Journal of Popular Romance Studies (Nov 2018)
The Stable Muslim Love Triangle – Triangular Desire in African American Muslim Romance Fiction
Abstract
A tenacious American Muslim phenotype permeates the society reducing myriad races and ethnicities in the sub-culture to either Middle Eastern or South Asian. Frequently ignored is the extensive African American Muslim heritage stemming from enslavement. African American Muslims subvert notions about American Muslim experiences and present a social group with entrenched ownership in the country as well as nascent application of the Islamic faith. Analyzing literary works of African American Muslim authors reveals a distinctive cultural identity at intersections of race, faith and national identity—its members developing unique perspectives in the multifaceted American Muslim Culture. African American Muslim romance novels reflect amorous notions held by members of the subgroup. Examining texts reveals a triangular desire trope—the Stable Muslim Love Triangle—involving protagonists and the deity, Allah, at the apex as mediator of desire, driving the viability of love in plots.
