Résumé:
This study explores the complex interplay between transnationalism, identity, and
belonging in Sahar Mustafah’s The Beauty of Your Face (2020). It investigates whether
transnational connections hinder or fuel the immigrant’s sense of belonging, particularly
within the post-9/11 American socio-political landscape. Drawing on postcolonial and
transnational theoretical frameworks—including the works of Homi Bhabha, Stuart Hall,
Avtar Brah, Edward Said, and Carol Fadda-Conrey—the study examines how identity is
shaped and reshaped across cultural, racial, and spiritual dimensions. The analysis highlights
how racism, white mainstream norms, and patriarchal expectations render identity formation
complex and hinder immigrants’ sense of belonging, within both American society and ArabMuslim community.
The study also reveals how faith, emotional ties, and spiritual awakening—particularly
through Islam—serve as powerful sources of belonging and resilience. By analyzing themes
such as marginalization, Islamophobia, inherited trauma, and healing, the research
demonstrates that Mustafah’s protagonist undergoes a symbolic return to faith and cultural
memory, which reconfigures her sense of self and community. The study ultimately presents
identity as one that is not defined by geography, but by emotional and spiritual reconnection.
Through a multidisciplinary lens, the dissertation affirms that transnational connections can
offer immigrants a path to reclaim agency, identity, and belonging in a world that often
renders them invisible.
