Intersubjective Misrecognition and Autonomy of Religious Minorities in Hanif’s Our Lady of Alice Bhatti
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This research investigates existing communalism between Muslims and Christians, and how the divide between these communities makes mutual understanding impossible, as depicted in the novel Our Lady of Alice Bhatti (2012) by Muhammad Hanif. Employing Jurgen Habermas’ ideas of intersubjectivity, recognition, and autonomy, the study seeks to decode the destructive effects of intersubjective misrecognition in the post-secular public domain on the private, public, and political autonomy of the Christian minorities in Pakistan. Utilising textual analysis as a research method, this research asserts that intersubjective misrecognition is mediated through the processes of negative stereotyping, inter-communal conflicts, and internalisation of the clash of civilisations between Arab-Islam and Western Christianity. This study provides a critical lens on contemporary socio-political challenges in Pakistan, underscoring the imperative for civic education that privileges shared national identity over sectarian division and for robust legal-institutional reforms to protect minority rights. The findings contribute to broader discourses on post-secularism, citizenship, and the role of Anglophone literature in interrogating human rights and identity politics in South Asia. Keywords Autonomy, Christians, human rights, intersubjectivity, post-secular, religious minorities References Ahmed, N., Jawaid, A., Javaid, H., Naqvi, S. M., & Sarfraz, S. (2019). Pronunciation challenges faced by undergraduate students of the Middle East. Language in India, 19(2). Beaumont, J., & Eder, K. (2018). Concepts, processes, and antagonisms of postsecularity. In J. Beaumont & C. Hempel (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of postsecularity (pp. 1–18). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315307831-1 Bilal, M. 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Authors: Sajjad Mahmood, Dr Shamaila Dodhy
Institution: University of the Punjab
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7129399308