Muhammad Abd al-Rahman (Phillip) Barker: Bridging Cultural Divides through Fantasy/Science-Fiction Role-Playing Games and Fictional Religion
“Muslims” and “Dungeons & Dragons” are rarely discussed in the same sentence. However, one of the earliest fantasy role-playing games, which left a lasting impact on the industry, was the brainchild of Muhammad Abd al-Rahman (Phillip) Barker (1929-2012), a professor of South Asian Studies, an ex...
| 1. VerfasserIn: | |
|---|---|
| Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Verfügbarkeit prüfen: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2018
|
| In: |
The Muslim world
Jahr: 2018, Band: 108, Heft: 3, Seiten: 387-418 |
| weitere Schlagwörter: | B
American Muslims
B fantasy role-playing games B M. A. R. Barker B J. R. R. Tolkien B Religion B Tékumel B Science-Fiction B South Asian studies B Empire of the Petal Throne B Klamath tribes B conversion to Islam B Dungeons & Dragons B Occultism |
| Online-Zugang: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Zusammenfassung: | “Muslims” and “Dungeons & Dragons” are rarely discussed in the same sentence. However, one of the earliest fantasy role-playing games, which left a lasting impact on the industry, was the brainchild of Muhammad Abd al-Rahman (Phillip) Barker (1929-2012), a professor of South Asian Studies, an expert in Native American languages, and an American convert to Islam. Like Tolkien, Barker created an enormous fantasy world; however, unlike Tolkien, his world was redolent with Native American and South Asian cultural and religious influences. Through this world, he shared with his fans a nuanced understanding of non-Western societies, cultures, and beliefs – the facets of the human experience that truly constitute multiculturalism. While fictional religion in role-playing games has been feared and condemned, fictional religion (and occultism) plays a pivotal role in Barker's work; an exploration of his approach towards fictional religion also sheds more light on the question of why fantasy role-playing games came across as competitors towards religion. Barker's fantasy world brought people of diverse backgrounds together in a beautiful demonstration of how fantasy and science fiction can bring about intercultural and interreligious tolerance in an otherwise intolerant world. Given the centrality of games such as Dungeons & Dragons to American popular culture, an exploration of Barker's legacy can also be seen in the light of the study of the history and contributions of Muslims in America. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1478-1913 |
| Enthält: | Enthalten in: The Muslim world
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/muwo.12225 |
