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Document Details : Title: Van de tirannieke tijd naar de eeuw van migratie Subtitle: De krachten van de geschiedenis in Salam Europa! van Kader Abdolah Author(s): DYNAROWICZ, Ewa Journal: Spiegel der Letteren Volume: 68 Issue: 1 Date: 2026 Pages: 33-58 DOI: 10.2143/SDL.68.1.3295748 Abstract : Kader Abdolah’s Salam Europa! (2016) interweaves nineteenth-century European history with contemporary migration by tracing Persian Shah Nasr-a-Din Kadjar’s travels through Europe. This article combines a Hegelian and postcolonial reading to analyse how Abdolah frames mass migration as a pivotal historical moment, carving out space for migrants in Western European society. While the Hegelian perspective illuminates how migration is presented as historical necessity, the postcolonial lens reveals a troubling tension in Abdolah’s novel: legitimising migration through a Hegelian historical narrative Abdolah ends up portraying the East – and by extension, the cultures of origin of a large proportion of 21st century migrants – as inferior to Europe. Thus, this article exposes the tension between the novel’s emancipatory intent and a neo-colonial representation. The very framework meant to legitimise migration simultaneously reinforces notions of Europe’s cultural superiority over the East. |
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