3 A quattro mani

This five-part dialogue argues that despite its common positioning as a ‘minor’ player in Italian letters, Somali Italian literature has prompted a major shift in the Italian cultural field by bringing to light forgotten pages of Italian history. This chapter presents key issues in Shirin’s career which represents some aspects of Somali Italian authors’ struggles to be heard and read, including the processes of translation and self-translation, and the challenges to be published. The chapter argues that collaborative writing can challenge the ‘minor’ role that immigrant authors occupy in the present cultural industry and their marginalisation in academic discussions concerning them.

1 Scritture meticce – Narrazioni diasporiche

This essay introduces the main themes of Scrivere di Islam. Raccontare la diaspora. It focuses on the historical, cultural and literary encounter between Italy and Somalia with a particular emphasis on Shirin Ramzanali Fazel’s life and literary career. It also discusses the impact of immigration literature on the Italian literary and cultural field. The analysis presents collaboration as a decolonial practice, which can produce unconventional outcomes such as a hybrid text like Scrivere di Islam. Raccontare la diaspora. Collaboration between writers and scholars can enrich critical enquiry and create texts and activities that potentially have a broader impact on a general audience.

2 Io e l’Islam

This chapter gathers Shirin’s reflections about her experience as a Muslim Italian woman who has lived in Italy and the United Kingdom. Shirin portrays her daily life, including her experience of religious and racist discrimination. In particular, the text analyzes how Muslims are depicted in media and the frequent association between Islam and terrorism. “Io e l’Islam” does not only criticise the hypocrisy of xenophobe Europeans who believe that Western civilisation is inherently ‘superior’ to all other civilisations, but it also highlights the contradictions of extremist Muslims who contravene the teaching of Islam.