Eight myths about science fiction and fantasy

By Haris A. Durrani 
Alt Muslimah

Most people who haven’t read science fiction and fantasy (SFF) define it by Hollywood blockbusters. If they’ve read SFF, they don’t think of it as such. “Fahrenheit 451? 1984?” I’ve heard from members of our Muslim communities. “Those are science fiction?”

While these misunderstandings are not exclusive to Muslim communities in America, they are damaging given the crucial role storytelling can play in illuminating our experiences. They show we’re not reading, and if we are, we’re not reading with open minds.

So, here are eight common myths about SFF:

Editor’s note: Haris A. Durrani (@hdernity) is Co-Founder of The Muslim Protagonist Symposium at Columbia University, where he is an Egleston Scholar and has published fiction, memoirs, and essays which explore personal narratives arising at the nexus of law, technology, and disenfranchised identities, particularly in Latino and post-9/11 contexts. His views are his own. A longer version of this article originally appeared on Alt Muslimah.

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