Globalization is a force that is shaping the lives of people all across the planet; with the

growth of interconnectivity across the world, knowledge and ideas are spreading faster than they
ever have before. New ideas, new technology, and increased global connectivity are impacting
the political, economic, ecological, and cultural aspects of the 21st century in a way that has
never been witnessed before. Whether this global phenomenon is for better or worse is yet to be
determined as the implications and advantages are still unfoldingone such implication is the
impact on religion. Within Marjane Satrapis Persepolis and Naipauls Beyond Belief implications
with religion occur due to the advancement of ideas such as Marxism, secularism, and
homosexuality, the spread of ideas such as these combined with diversified experiences
regarding foreign cultures leads people to question the authenticity and ability of their faith to
function in their lives as they accept new global identities and ideas that contradict with
traditional religious ideas.
One of the strongest faith questioning ideologys that presents itself today, as represented
in both novels, is Marxism; as Karl Marx puts it himself, Religion is the sigh of the oppressed
creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the
people. Within Persepoli,s Satrapi herself had accepted Marxist ideals in her younger years
while simultaneously describing herself as being born with religion, I was born with religion
(Satrapi 6). Yet as the story progresses and global conflict in Iran continues develop, so does
Satrapis thirst for the knowledge and ideas being brought to Iran, which is how she came about
her favorite book entitled Dialectic Materialism (Satrapi 12). The knowledge she obtains
about the children of Palestine, revolutionaries such as Fidel Castro, and even the massacres of
Vietnamese children by Americans, increase her support for the Marxist ideology and lead her to
begin to question her faith and relationship with god (Satrapi 13). Her alliance with Karl Marx

and his revolutionary ideas deteriorate her aspiration of becoming a prophet and her personal
connection with god (Satrapi 16) up until the time the point that she realizes her alliance with
god and Marx cannot coexist and she is forced to choose between the two, and ends up pursing
the path backed up by global ideas, the Marxist global revolution (Satrapi 70-71).
Observing Shahbaz influenced by Marxism in Beyond Belief it is clear that the
implications for religion that come with the spread of knowledge and global ideas is not solely
limited to the case with Marjane Satrapi. Shahbaz was raised Islamic, as his father was, and went
to public and primary school in England, a country that with an abundant amount of access to
knowledge and ideas that wouldnt have been as easy to obtain in his original country, Pakistan.
It was in there in England surrounded by knowledge and liberal ideals at Oxford university that
his faith in Islam and its values would be put to the test, Life was good him; and though he was
now more English than Pakistani or Muslim, though he hardly knew Pakistan, and the poetry he
began to write was all about poverty and beggars and cripples and people in the streets.
(Naipaul 276). Enjoying his years at the university he read up on Franz Fanon, Che Guevera, and
absorbed revolutionary ideas; he realized that Islam was a failure, and that Marxism was
necessary to accomplish global change, It was the idea now of Shahbazs Marxist group that
Marxism and revolution would do what Islam failed to do. With the desolation of his faith
Shahbaz indulges in the life of partying, lots of sex, talk of revolution, and eventually sexual
experimentation with his South African friend.
The idea of secularism is an aspect that comes with Marxism but is not solely limited to
that ideology, it can be applied without the need of radical ideological supportat least in
western culture. In less westernized Indonesia, where the strength of Islam is prominent, and the
religion dictates for laws to be coherent with the Quran, secularism seems unachievable.

Converted peoples have to strip themselves of their past; of converted peoples nothing is
required but the purest faith (if such a thing can be arrived at), Islam, submission.. (Naipaul 64).
Islam requires devote submission, but the Sukarno administration, the ruling political power at
the time, is an administration being influenced by global ideas, westernization, and secularism,
which will impact men like Imaddudin. Imaddudin himself was divided on his devotion to his
religion and devotion to the advancement of contemporary knowledge, It was at Iowa that
Imaduddin made the great break with his past. He found a new subject of study, industrial
engineering.(Naipaul 12) Industrial engineering is an occupation that is very financially
supportive, but not spiritually. Eventually Imaddudin realized his secular occupation was
distracting him from his religious potential, and in this sense he chooses to ignore secular
thoughts and disregard his global inspired occupation in exchange for spiritual resource
development of his secularizing country I discovered at that time that this country needs human
resource development rather than high technology.. His reluctance of secularization, combined
with his highly religious aspirations, eventually causes him to question where his alliance lies
with a secularizing government. Within Chapter 1 Imaddudin was taken into custody under
superstition by the president, and questioned about his loyalty regarding the secular state of
Pakistan. Twisted between defying Islam or defying a secular state, the prosecutor asks
Imaddudin You Tell me what you think of this country. Its a secular state. Not a religious
State., and Imaddudins response, You are wrong. You are dead wrong.(Naipaul 7).
In Marjane Satrapis Persepolis the concept of secularization doesnt isnt accepted from
the state of Iran, but rather it comes from Satrapi herself when she returns to the country, more
culturally experienced and open minded than before. In the chapter The Return (246-257) when
Satrapi returns to the country, on her arrival to the airport she can feel the repressive religious

satire that has consumed the nation (Satrapi 246). Walking down the streets of the city, she
encounters a billboard that pressures following the strict moral code outlined in the Quran, with
slogans such as The Martyr is the heart of History, I Hope to be a martyr myself, A martyr
lives forever (Satrapi 250). She exhibits her secular thought process when she draws the critique
of the religious billboards to the billboards she encountered in Austria, Best sausages ever for
20 shillings, (Satrapi 250). These ideals and thoughts reflect with her appearance as well,
which she also critiques on page 250, It wasnt just the veil I to which I had to readjust. The
extension of this impact cannot overlooked; the influx of makeup, magazines, and other articles
of imagery that promote not wearing the religious veil in Iran, as well as promoting the use of
forbidden substances such as makeup, has a strong and accepted impact amongst the females in
the country. As you can see Satrapi and her friends have adorned themselves in makeup, with no
religious veils or scarves that cover their facial features (Satrapi 270). And while her friends take
a stance at secularizing their physical appearance, they do not completely accept the more liberal
ideas of sexual encounters and sexual freedom. (Satrapi 270).
One of the more controversial aspects of sexual freedom is homosexuality, which
presents itself in Iran as entirely unacceptable and against the entire concept of Islam, punishable
by capital punishment (Satrapi 289-290). The hostility against homosexuality is undeniable in
Islam, and other religions. While homosexuality has been around as long as religion itself, with
the help of the diffusion of cultures and knowledge, namely secularism, homosexuality is
becoming predominately more accepted. To draw upon this revelation we will look at Satrapi and
her time in Austria, when she lived in a house with 8 homosexual men (Satrapi 198). She has
lived in Austria and has been impacted by the culture, secularism, and ultimately accepts the men
as they are, when according to her religion, she shouldnt. The cultural shock is present when she

introduces her mother to her roommates, and explains they are homosexual (Satrapi 201). Given
her mothers response and the expression on her face, you clearly see its more of a taboo for her;
she is far less globalized than Satrapi at this point and she has been living in a country that is
dominated by strict religious conduct, but she accepts them as she has been impacted by other
cultures before and is a more secularized individual. This would not have occurred if her mother
had been coming from Iran with no previous experience with global ideas and diverse cultures.
Likewise, Shahbaz would not have experienced relations with South African friend if he had not
been in London where he was exposed to diverse cultures and ideas such as marxism and
secularism, which tarnished his identity with religion and promoted his acceptance of a more
global identity.
Ultimately when you look at Persepolis and Beyond Belief you attain this realization that
there will be continued complications when it comes to incorporating historic religions with new
and globalized ideas. With the spread and acceptance of global ideas that conflict with religion,
such as Marxism and secularism, people are being forced to choose between accepting a new
global identity, or truthfully following their religion. It leads us to question how heavily religious
and non-secular states, such as in the Middle East, will sustain themselves in a world that is
becoming incredibly diversified in terms of knowledge and cultures.