Recovering from cultural blindness: multimodal Positive Discourse Analysis of metaphors in hand-drawn sketches about Islam

4.1 Data collection

The corpus of this study was collected in three steps. First, the researcher conducted a sixty-minute induction and tutorial session to familiarize the participants with the study’s aims, objectives, and context. Seventy-five participants, whose age ranges from 16 to 22 years, have given their informed consents to join the study after answering all their questions. Although not all students are Muslims, Christians students show enthusiasm to participate in the study.

Second, a semi-structured interview was conducted to make the participants cognizant with some of the prevailing anti-Islam ideologies. Third, the participants were required to react in hand-drawing to the study’s main research question of “how to improve the Muslims’ image?”. Among the topics that were discussed in this interview are the respondents’ understanding of what represents terrorism, racism, brutality, fanaticism, and ignorance. The respondents’ understanding is viewed in the current study to function as a stimulus for the respondents’ way(s) to resist stereotypes and sociocultural marginalization. The interview’s discussion is intended to prompt the respondents to illustrate their resistance of such negative ideologies using hand-drawings as a practice of resistance.

4.1.1 Analytical procedures

Figure 1 illustrates the analytical steps followed in this study. As a first layer of analysis, I started by decomposing the corpus into SEs, annotating these elements using Ledin and Machin (2018). As a second layer of analysis, I explained the relationship between these SEs and the source/target metaphoric domains using Lakoff and Johnson (1980). In this step, all the sketches were thematically and structurally classified, according to the recurrent visual patterns, into metaphoric groupings. In the third layer of analysis, I related the microstructure (findings from steps 1 and 2) and presumed how the discourse of sketches, with its VMs, creates a language of resistance within the framework of Nartey’s (2020) PDA. This macro-analysis is carried out to interpret how the discourse of resistance overcomes (or not) the cultural impediments that prevent the voices of some sociocultural communities.

Figure 1:

Procedural steps of analysis.

It is argued that, using metaphors, PDA can counter-frame the mainstream discourse (Macgilchrist 2007) which is the intention of this study. This study, thus, seeks to analyze how the verbal and visual representations are used to resist the discourses with negative attributes about Islam. The findings, then, were framed within Molyneux’s philosophy which relates the ‘perception’ of visual imageries to the ‘knowledge’ and construal of the reflected actions, identities and values connoted by these imageries.

5.1 Islam is love–mercy–festivity–serenity–peace

The following set of images witness the recurrence of some visual elements such as mosques, persons, hearts, etc. These semiotics elements are used with intended compositions to connote various beliefs that, when culturally read, can resist some ideological stereotypical views about Islam.

In Figure 2 sketch (A), the metaphoric image Islam is love is created by visualizing two hands as an index of supplication. The source domain love is visualized by the heart, an icon of inner feelings which connotes clinging to affection to resist the perception of Islam as a religion of hatred. With a textual element of the deity’s name ‘Allah’ in the center, the heart implies that serenity is accomplished by keeping divinity in its core. Interestingly, the hand and the heart represent parts of the human body performing external and internal practices. Composition in this sketch is marked by the centralization of all its objects. The image is drawn from a bird’s-eye view where the heart is foregrounded and fully perceived with the name of deity inside. Although the whole sketch is drawn with a pencil in black and white, the sketcher perceived the heart as having a shade to give 3D dimensional deepness. It is an obligatory interconnected conjunctive relationship between the three depicted objects, heart, hands, and Allah.

Figure 2:

Islam is love–mercy–festivity–serenity–peace.

In sketch (B), the metaphoric image Islam is mercy is reflected in the heart in addition to the mosque. The size of the SEs, however, is very crucial in signifying the intended meaning. That is, the heart incubates a globe which connotes universal emotions. This construction has the same size as the mosque which bears religious implications. Such equality of size reflects their equality in importance. Foregrounded, the heart is positioned in the bottom right corner of the image in comparison with the mosque which is, not completely backgrounded, positioned in the top left corner. Due to the right-to-left linearity of the Arabic language, this may be assimilated to theme-rheme organization of ideas. This oppositional construction reflects the cultural orientation of the Arabic language.

As textual metaphors are composed of lexical choices, VMs, in sketch (B), are composed using SEs. For instance, the sketcher customized two sets of objects, namely, the mosque and its peripheries (microphone, speech, Muslim worshiper) and peace with its embedded constituents (heart, dove, olive branch, and textual referential) to create a S–V–O syntagmatic relationship with their components and a paradigmatic relationship with the other sets of elements. That is, the microphone represents the action performed or the ‘verb’ (calling for obligatory love), and the Muslims entering the mosque represent the grammatical ‘object’ affected by the process of calling, while the ‘subject’ is conceptualised in the mosque which is performing the action of calling. The same S–V–O syntagmatic relationship is represented in the heart which possess (v.to have) the embedded globe and the other elements to express the meaning of owning the world with ‘love, peace and mercy’ as textually represented in the drawing. In doing so, the collective heart objects were shown as coming out in profusion from the mosque’s mounted microphone that is on par to the call for prayers to intensify the semantic effect. Drawing the hearts as broadcasted via the microphone on par of prayers’ calls loads the depiction with a sense of urgency and an appearance of a fundamental and binding activity like that of prayer. Sketch (B) is a visual metaphoric representation of mercy (resisting the ideology of the brutality of Islam) where both cultural and religious implications are represented in the process of praying and the process of Azan (Call for pray) as well as the written text of the name of the Prophet Muhammed. The cultural implications of the SEs are reflected in an invisible speech bubble getting out of the microphone (small hearts) which conforms with the large heart embracing the globe.

Sketch (C) comprises SEs that depict the metaphoric image of Islam is festivity. Again, the mosques are the key visual element that symbolizes a social institution that constructs not a religious realm only but also festive cultural world. The metaphor of festivity (resisting melancholy) is constructed by the balloon seller who is gazing to the audience and asking them to perform a social action of hold/buying the balloons, inside which quotes of Islamic values are inscribed. The balloon seller is one of the represented participants whose significance reflects cultural-specific significance. As a cultural ritual in Islam, selling balloons to families is common in feasts to spread happiness. To support this idea, the sketcher draws circular-shaped balloons with textual references inside to emphasise the mottos of inclusiveness, mercy, and hope. In contrast, the depiction of the mosque with straight lines creates a dichotomy between the two shapes. Numbers are critical in this sketch; it is only one mosque implying monotheism and five balloons are inspired by the number of the pillars of Islam. These numerical implications are asserted by the sketcher when interviewed about his view of the SEs in the drawing. The interviewee asserted that, by the repetition of the drawings of the balloons with their textual elements, the sketch is intended to resist the negative representations about Islam, i.e. a religion of ‘kindness’, not violence, ‘mercy’ not injustice, ‘honesty’ not mischief, etc.

Sketch (D) is a visual depiction of the metaphor Islam is serenity (no distress or distraction). The mosque and worshiper as SEs play a role in the visual composition of the metaphoric meaning. Interestingly, the arrangements of these SEs affect the focus of the reader who can easily identify the right-to-left alignment of the depicted objects. In this sense, the image of serenity can be metaphorically inferred through the Arabic right-to-left linearity. The sketcher intended to divide the drawing into two halves with parallel course of actions. A dynamic VM is narratively created by depicting settings (landscape), characters (worshippers), and actions (performing prayers). A billow of clouds was placed on the right-hand side of the image to indicate a sense of desolation and despair while the sun with its yellow color was configured on the left-hand side to mark hope and serenity. The material action of walking inside the mosque is the tool to index the performance of religious rituals. The sketcher organised the SEs in the right half of the drawing with people having disrupted emotional states of mind. This is parallel to the left half which comprises a sun and people in a positive and active state of mind which assimilates to what Fontana (1994) said about daylight and sun that they mark divine activities corresponding to joy and happiness. The windows in the mosque maybe interpreted as a means of letting the divine light to pass through. According to Fontana (1994), “a window admits the light of God to a church or a temple” (p. 77). The SEs depict a sense of right-to-left motion. The drawing of the represented participants is generic, i.e., emotions and appearance can easily be relatable and identifiable by any reader; their faces and body postures are not drawn to specify a social group over the other. Numbering again plays a meaningful role as the member of the people entering the mosque is five which is equal to those getting out of it. This may help in achieving harmony between the SEs in the sketch.

Sketch (E) represents the metaphor of Islam is peace (as opposed to war). “The importance of war and peace in human affairs is reflected in a rich symbolic vocabulary” (Fontana 1994, p. 72). The hand-drawing utilizes the classical symbolism of the ‘dove and olive branch’ as the classical metaphoric representation of peace; “A symbol of the great flood, when the dove brought an olive branch to Noah” (p. 72). Centered in the sketch, the world peace is represented as the core of the PD about Islam. The sketcher uses color tone to distinguish the various levels of the green color. As a color of peace and welfare, the green color prevails in the drawing. The blue colors in the globe represent water areas while the land is represented in yellow. The utilization of this color scheme creates a visual context where the dove is holding the whole world over its shoulder. Interestingly, to obviate any misinterpretation of the symbol of dove, the sketcher used the wrote the word ‘Islam’ (target domain) on the body of the dove (source domain).

5.2 Islam is advisory–disciplinary–hygiene–help

The semiotic patterns in the following set of sketches create the metaphors that connote dynamicity and positive practices embedded in the Islamic commandments.

In Figure 3, sketch (F), to resist the perception of Islam as a religion of carelessness, the metaphor Islam is advisory can be induced. This image is constructed by the Arabic right-to-left motion indexed by the footsteps of the represented participant moving towards his ‘goal’, i.e., mosque. The equal size of the worshipers and the mosque signifies the equal importance of these objects. There is a verbal message activating the motion of the worshiper. It is a speech produced by worshipper asserting the importance of walking to the mosque and sharing the dynamic practice of prayers with other Muslims. Although the walk towards the mosque is individually indexed, the collective behavior of praying inside the mosque is implicitly understood. With minimum semiotic resources and a salient cultural knowledge, we can conceive a communal action inside the mosque even if this is not explicitly drawn in the sketch. Although the normal orientational direction of the worshipper to have his back towards the audience, the sketcher opted for emphasising the relaxing and caring facial expressions and eye-gaze towards the audience and textually advising them to gain the rewards promised to those who pray in the mosque.

Figure 3:

Islam is advisory–disciplinary–hygiene–help.

Sketch (G) reflects the metaphor Islam is disciplinary. The imagery depicts dynamic participants grouped in six pairs performing six different good deeds. The performed actions have socio-cultural implications that oppose recklessness. The depicted practices revolve around the ‘centralized’ Holy Book ‘Quran’ which is highlighted in the drawing. Sociologically, the good deed of helping others is reflected in the male character who is leaving his chair for a pregnant woman. Another positive deed called by Muslims is the social behavior of following the etiquette of moving up and down stairs with keeping your right side to allow others to get up and down freely. This behavior is visually and verbally represented by the stairs with a verbal message يمين ‘right’. In the sketch, all the human figures have equal sizes. The high angle imagery allows the reader to capture all the actions simultaneously as if they are neutral unified action taking place in all aspects of life.

Sketch (H) depicts the metaphor Islam is hygiene. The SEs reinforce the conceptualisation of a Muslims removing filths and dirt as a core practice of Islamic rituals. Interestingly, the building represented has a cross over it which marks Christianity. The quote, however, is part of an Islamic Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad النظافة من الإيمان ‘Cleanness is next to godliness’. This depicts the homogeneity, integration, and inclusiveness within the conception of the participant who drew this sketch. The building is represented in a set of blocks “which marks the availability and the countability of the actions performed in front of this construction”, as explained by the sketcher. The female cleaner identifies the sketcher gender. As a female, the sketcher argued that she is cleaning freely unveiled. Her size in comparison to the dirt reflects her full control over the dirt. “Only with few cultural knowledge about such relationship between the drawn elements, we can recognize the message sent by this sketch”, the sketcher asserted.

In sketch (I) the metaphor Islam is help (not repression), the represented participants are looking towards the audience to express their feelings when someone is giving the other money to help them. A Money note is centralized, and the stretched arms form a vector connecting the two participants. Who is giving whom the money is not clear. The sketcher argues that it is a common attitudinal belief in the Islamic repertoire to hide the charity in order not to hurt the emotions of the poor. The image sought to show this hideous activity and a textual representation of the importance of charity is stated to highlight what the visualisation is about. The size of the two participants is equal to signify no one is inferior/superior to the ‘Other’. Indexing the action of the ‘giving’, the hands are backgrounded behind the money which is marked by the dollar sign which is signify that “giving charity is not restricted to Arab Muslims only”, the interviewee argued.

An obvious reason to the assaultive narrative about Islam is the reservoir of ideological suspicions against the actions practiced and exercised by Muslims. The underrepresentation of Muslim positive practices towards the society fosters the participants to produce this set of drawings.

5.3 Islam is homogeneity–equality–freedom–unity

Discourse about Islam accuse it of being discriminatory and hegemonic over the. The following set of sketches depicts a positive metaphorical imagery about Islam. The metaphor Islam is homogeneity–equality–freedom–unity reflect how the sketchers believe ‘what real Islam is’.

Figure 4 sketch (J) depicts the metaphor Islam is homogeneity (resisting hegemony) with attributes about Christianity and Islam. First, the sketcher utilizes the language of clothes which, according to Barthes (2004), functions as a grammar within the context of the discourse. The two represented participants wear cloaks, head-caps, and simple clogs. These garments reflect the religious identities. Although both characters are from different religions, they are positioned in the same locality. They are adjacent to each other, with minimum physical, thus, social distance. The accessories they wear, cross and prayer beads ‘sebha’, along with their beards function as extra informational support to further reinforce knowledge about their identity. Their religious identity is boosted visually through the huge cross and crescent which are drawn in big size in the background. Their size is large in comparison to the surrounding SEs. After being acquainted with these cultural parameters, this image can be interpreted as a depiction of unity, equality, and commonality to obviate any religious conflicts called for by Islam.

Figure 4:

Islam is homogenity–equality–freedom–unity.

Sketch (K) also fosters the metaphor Islam is equality. The visual elements resist the ideology of Islam is a religion of inequality. Visually, the drawing displays three pairs of people who are stereotypically described to be powerless and inferior within the Islamic culture. The metaphor is depicted with dynamic actions indexed in the mental communicative processes between the priest and the Sheikh as both are having their face to the viewer and their eye-gaze is mirroring their peaceful state of mind. The second pair is represented as exchanging objects, flower bunch as a marker of sentimental affection with the children. The third pair uses the technique of gazing to the viewer to show exchanged kindness and inner satisfaction of the old people. Interestingly, these dynamic actions are represented on one horizontal line reflecting emotional stability of the sketched participants.

Sketch (L) is a representation of the metaphor Islam is freedom (not oppression). The imagery explicates timely development of a female student proceeding through her education to get graduated till she practices medicine. The sketch resembles a flowchart, and the use of arrows symbolizes the transformational phases of her development. Gender issues are visually reflected in the sartorial language of the represented female. The drawing of her clothes helps in marking the development of the character and shaping her sociocultural role as well as her independent identity through her education and profession. The temporal metaphor connotes phases to empowering women. This metaphor represents a resisting voice against the accusation of Islam that it opposes educating the females and allowing them to have a profession. The sketcher here claims that Islam “…is not a patriarchal belief. Men and women have the same rights, one of which is education. Citizenship is not evaluated by the biological sex, but by the effectiveness in the society. Women in Islam are well educated effective members in the society”, the interviewee emphasized.

In sketch (M), the implication of the metaphor of Islam is unity (not dividedness) can be inferred by the unification of some SEs and the duality of others. Duality is explicitly represented in: two lighthouses where Islam and Christianity are on top, two-finger sign of victory, two Sheikhs walking together and two hands holding each other. This duality can be contrasted with unary symbolization of some religious beliefs which socio-culturally and conceptually are one in number. The sketcher portrays the Ka’ba (one construction for pilgrimage), Quran (one Holy Book), Allahu Akbar (one God), and a sole devil. Dynamically depicted, the devil is cutting the vector connecting the semiotic binary of the Muslim and the Christian participants, thus, increasing the distance between them. The sketch identifies the Muslim and the Christian with tools that have religious implications: a prayer beads and a cross, respectively. The devil is related to a thought bubble which marks a mental process of instigating for war and killing which is further stressed by the icon of guns which signify enmity. Interestingly, the portrayal of the devil has a political implication where the devil symbolizes the USA, “a symbol of the western controlling oppressive country”, an interviewee asserted.

This set depicts Islam as a belief that seeks homogeneity and inclusiveness. The holistic description of social members can be noticed, and people are categorized not according to their religion but according to their social effectiveness in the society. With a verbal intertextuality the sketch recalls the genre of Islamic Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad in the genre hand-drawings and this is manifested in the two commandments استوصوا بالنصارى خيراً ‘take care of your fellow Christians’ and ليس منا من لم يعطف على صغيرنا و يوقر كبيرنا “Anyone who does not show mercy to our children nor acknowledge the right of our old people is not one of us”. Gender stereotypical schema about Muslim women was contested and objectification of females, which have been acclaimed in the western discourse, are refuted.

5.4 Islam is future-light

The connection between Islam and light is authenticated in the Quranic verses and this is represented verbally in the four sketches. A common feature in this set is the conceptualization of light as a source of positivity which is, also, opted to be verbally rather than visually.

Figure 5 sketch (N) visualizes the metaphor Islam is future (in contrast to reactionary). The metaphor is attained through the utilization of the geometrical circularity of shapes: the sun (a marker of a new beginning, smoothness, and completion) and the Islamic Minaret (a marker of height and authenticity) (Bonner 2017). The crescent on the top of the minaret, also, displays temporal reference to night. Yet, in the context, crescent is culturally recognized as a symbol of Islam in day and night; sun and crescent are traditionally perceived as temporal markers. The verbal element inside the sun asserts the temporal reference to the future. Metaphorically, the sketch connotes that Islam guides the humanity to the future and not just the past. The holistic interpretation of the sketch implies that the sun rises with the emergence of Islam. “Islam is the religion that gets people out of darkness”, an interview cited. According to the interviewees, Islam is the light that leads the world to the future.

Figure 5:

Islam is future-light.

Sketches (O, P, and Q) manifest the iconic utilization of the sun to construct the metaphor Islam is light (as opposed to darkness). Sketch (O) relies more on a verbal illustration to support the intended proposition.

In addition to the sun, which is centralized, the following verbal commentary is inscribed underneath to textually represent the metaphor of islam is peace:

Using simile, Islam is assimilated to ‘sunshine’. The metaphor is extended for the light is spreading peace, which in turn overcomes the negative practices that had been attributed to it. Islam is dynamically described to practice positive changes (spreading good manners) against stereotypical attributes (of terror, abuse, and oppression). In sketch (O), the power of Islam is assimilated to the positive power and the light of the sun illuminates the good and eliminates the evil from the whole world.

In sketch (P), the drawer divides the scenery into two halves, one representing darkness and the other representing light. The calligraphical drawing of the word الإسلام ‘Islam’ is anchored linking the two halves. Visually, a physical action is metaphorically represented; a real Muslim is the one digging through hardships to reach the light of Islam. The sketch connotes dynamic movement and physical action. The axe in the man’s hand is a tool that implies the difficulty of penetrating this hard blockade towards the light. The hollowness of the surrounding vacuum in the left half indexes accomplished hard work and progressive achievement. The whole meaning is boosted by intertextuality and the use of a Quranic verse الله ولي الذين آمنوا يخرجهم من الظلمات الى النور ‘Allah is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into the light’ (Surat Al-Baqara, Verse 257).

In sketch (Q), a centrally positioned light bulb has a light house merged in its body. Metaphorically, the light house and the light bulb boost the ideas embedded within its frames. Within the frame of the bulb, several SEs quoted from the nature (birds, clouds, and a sun) to metaphorically imply relaxation, serenity, and peace of mind. This integration of light and nature conveys virtual positive feelings. Further, these feelings of peace and tranquility are challenged if a person gets out of this virtual frame, i.e., bulb glass. The external attributes are anchored to the bulb, oppression, terror, abuse, etc. All of which are metaphorically prohibited to enter the realms of the bulb. The centralization of the circular shape of the bulb, along with the straight vectors, connects it to the challenges outside the core of the Islam. The whole composition highlights positivity and resists negative attributes about Islam.

5.5 Islam is tolerance

The following sketches directly refute the OTHERness of Islam. The dominating discourse about Islam seeks to segregate and isolate Muslims as the BAD OTHER. The SEs in this set of images depicts the metaphor Islam is tolerance (as opposed to violence).

The metaphor in Figure 6 sketch (R) is dynamic; it is a narrative visualization as it comprises characters, settings, and a plot. In this sketch, a Muslim is visualized as having mental thoughts of the pre-conceived ideologies about the violence of Islam. The depicted participant is performing a mental cognition and is inscribing his resisting thoughts peacefully in his note. In the bottom of the sketch, the objects are depicted in binaries where accusations of the exclusion of some social groups are rebutted. The positioning of the adjacent participants describes how homogenous and united Islam is. An unveiled woman is positioned side by side with a woman in veil and another in Niqab. Also, the power of unity between Christianity and Islam is metonymically described by the adjacent institutional buildings of the mosque and the church. The syntagmatic alignment of the objects helps in creating an image of unity and brotherhood.

Figure 6:

Islam is tolerance.

The thought bubble comprises icons of violence which are attributed to Muslims. The VM within the first thought bubble is interpreted as attacks to Muslims. It indexes violent practices against Muslims where a prayer is threatened by a fanatic. Conversely, in the though bubble, the man is praying on a blue mat which signifies peace and tranquility. In this bubble, the mosque is backgrounded in silhouette but the action of the man threating the worshipper is highlighted. The second bubble includes another metaphor of a woman in veil and an index of violence against her is metonymically highlighted by a gripping hand of an anonymous individual. Color is significantly used to contest the stereotypical significance of black color of veil; the sketcher drew it in orange, a color of happiness and positivity. The third bubble includes a man with the classical garment of Muslims where beards and clothes mark his belief of the importance of the traditional appearance of a Muslim. However, according to the sketcher, the guns symbolize brutality and violence against Muslims who cling to their right of clothing. Using these visual elements, the upper and the lower parts of the sketch explicate a contrasting signification of the conflicting cultural beliefs which are based on the unawareness of what Islam is and what it calls for (represented in the middle part of the image).

In sketch (S), the metaphoric imagery is constructed by symbols that connote mental cognition and structural reading of proximity between the characters and their eye gaze. The banner and the stick are symbolic tools used to attack and counterattack. These tools are held tightly by the depicted participants, and violence is indexed by the grip of the banner and the stick. The two participants are gazing to challenge each other with distance explicated between them. This visual space (as claimed too by St. Clair 2000) implies a social distance between them and their ideological beliefs. The banner comprises negative verbal message ‘Bad Religion/Terrorism’ which attacks Islam. The verbal explanantion underneath illustrates the steps of resisting such attack:

The peaceful path of ‘talking’ was initially taken to resist the attacks, and when rejected the man was kicked with a stick. When interviewed, the sketcher argued that the text in the banner is generic and a general description for Islam is a result of individualistic violent practices of fanatics. “Even if these practices are not accepted by Muslims and Islam, the ‘Other’ still views Islam as a religion of brutality”, an interviewee asserted. The image is intended by the sketcher as a portrayal of individualistic behaviors that do not belong to the core of Islam. In general, attack-versus-resistance is a conceptualized meaning reflected in this set of sketches through mental processes which create a narrative between the SEs. These mental processes represent the voices of the marginalised participants.