Discursive Memory of Authoritarianism and Religious Delegitimation of Resistance in Modern Arabic Drama: A Sociocognitive Reading of Musthafa Mahmud’s Az-Zaʿīm
Memori Diskursif Otoritarianisme dan Delegitimasi Keagamaan atas Resistensi dalam Drama Arab Modern: Pembacaan Sosiokognitif atas Az-Zaʿīm Karya Musthafa Mahmud
Abstract
Purpose - This study introduces two interpretive concepts—discursive memory of authoritarianism and religious delegitimation of resistance—to examine the construction of power in Musthafa Mahmud’s modern Arabic drama Az-Zaʿīm. Rather than applying Van Dijk’s sociocognitive CDA as a checklist, the study deploys it to show how a single dramatic text encodes the structural logic of authoritarian discourse across historical periods.
Design/methodology/approach - The study applies a qualitative descriptive design grounded in library research. The primary data consist of 27 purposively selected textual units—dialogues, monologues, and stage directions—drawn from the 1990 Dar al-Maʿarif edition of Az-Zaʿīm (pp. 3–97). Inclusion criteria required each unit to: (1) contain an explicit representation of a power relation; (2) carry at least one ideologically marked lexical item (e.g., kufr, sādah, ʿabīd, ṯāʿah); (3) exhibit a syntactic form enacting power (imperative, passive, or fronting); and (4) relate to a historically traceable socio-political condition. Units lacking all four criteria were excluded. Analysis moved through three linked stages: data reduction via a structured coding table, cross-analyst interpretive discussion (triangulation), and contextual interpretation connecting linguistic findings to Ottoman Tripolitan and modern Arab political history.
Findings/results – Power in Az-Zaʿīm is constructed through four interrelated discursive strategies: (1) religious delegitimation, whereby the term kufr forecloses political dissent before its content is addressed; (2) hierarchical lexical opposition (sādah/ʿabīd), which naturalizes social inequality while simultaneously enabling its critique; (3) imperative forms that condense vertical authority into bare commands; and (4) passive constructions that delete the agent of discriminatory policy. Collectively, these strategies constitute what this study terms the discursive memory of authoritarianism—a repertoire of recurring linguistic moves that reproduce domination across Ottoman and postcolonial Arab political contexts.
Originality/value - The study proposes two novel conceptual tools for the field: discursive memory of authoritarianism and religious delegitimation of resistance in modern Arabic drama. These extend Van Dijk’s model beyond its standard application and position Az-Zaʿīm within comparative debates on political theater, critical stylistics, and the discourse-historical approach. The findings have direct implications for Arabic literary pedagogy and scholarship on power discourse in postcolonial Arabic contexts.
Paper type – Research article
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ragim Samanery, Sayyidah Khoizuroonah, Andini Adelia Fathan, Aning Ayu Kusumawati, Witriani, Amelia Widya Ningrum, Firdaus Nur Bunga, Warni Muthi’illah (Author)
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