Satire

There are many relics throughout history. Some are more important to others, but each one brings a certain comfort to someone. Religious relics are commonly the most important to people. Whether it be scrolls from the Koran or the Shroud of Turin, people hold these things very high. In Salman Rushdie’s novel East, West, Hashim stumbles upon a hair from the Prophet Muhammad. This relic was stolen from a mosque and made its way to Hashim where he found it in a lake.

Hashim is not a religious man. “I’m a man of the world, of this world” (44). He believes that this relic should not be given back to the mosque since “the Prophet would have disapproved mightily of this relic-worship” (44). Hashim then starts to enforce strict religious practices on his family after coming in contact with the relic. His family does of course not like the new rules brought by the relic. A thief hired by Hashim’s daughter later steals the relic. The relic brings nothing but trouble to everyone in the end.

Rushdie satires religion and the relics that people worship in this story. Religion is supposed to be about worshiping a higher power. Humans want to be able to see and touch something concrete. With religion not being one hundred percent certain, people can find comfort in believing more in that religion if there is evidence to support it. Rushdie wants to point out the irony in this. We lose track of what really is important. We should not possess about hairs or clothes, but have faith in your God.