Deconstructing Islamophobic Discourse: An Impoliteness Theory Approach to Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced

Authors

  • Khalid Ahmed

    Faculty of Education and Liberal Arts (FELA), INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Malaysia
  • Syeda Sumera Qamar

    Department of English Language and Literature, The University of Lahore, Gurjat 50700, Pakistan
  • Amna Tughral

    Department of English, University of Gujrat, Gurjat 50700, Pakistan
  • Badriah Khaleel

    Department of Applied Linguistics, Kinnaird College for Women University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
  • Farhat Abdullah

    Department of English, University of Central Punjab, Lahore 54782, Pakistan
  • Ruqia Saba Ashraf

    Department of English, The Women University, Multan 60000, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.10649
Received: 23 June 2025 | Revised: 15 July 2025 | Accepted: 22 July 2025 | Published Online: 11 November 2025

Abstract

This study investigates the exercise of impoliteness strategies in Islamophobic discourse in the play Disgraced. Impoliteness is a multifarious matter that is perhaps apparently, closely related to politeness. It is very much the parasite of politeness. Islamophobia refers to irrational fear, hostility, or prejudice directed against Islam and Muslims, representing a significant barrier to achieving a fair society. The purpose behind this study is to pinpoint the distinctive types of  impoliteness strategies used by different characters in the aforesaid play. It further highlights the functions of impolite strategies in an Islamophobic context. Islamophobia is one of the frequently discussed issues in current social scenarios as Muslims constitute a noticeable part of the world and are judged with the lens of prejudice and hatred on the basis of religiosity. It is a qualitative research accomplished by using the latest version of impoliteness model to classify and analyse the facts. The results can be summarized as follows: Among the five strategies of impoliteness—bald on-record impoliteness, positive impoliteness, negative impoliteness, sarcasm, or mock impoliteness—the negative impoliteness strategy emerges as the most frequently employed in this play. The characters in Disgraced frequently employed the affective function.

Keywords:

Impoliteness; Fair Society; Islamophobia; Disgraced; Strategy; Functions

References

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How to Cite

Ahmed, K., Qamar, S. S., Tughral, A., Khaleel, B., Abdullah, F., & Ashraf, R. S. (2025). Deconstructing Islamophobic Discourse: An Impoliteness Theory Approach to Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(12), 710–722. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.10649

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 12 (December 2025): In progress

Article Type

Article

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Copyright © 2025 Khalid Ahmed, Syeda Sumera Qamar, Amna Tughral, Badriah Khaleel, Farhat Abdullah, Ruqia Saba Ashraf

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.