This thesis is a literary analysis of two novels, Comme le bon pain (2001) by Mariama Ndoye and Cendres et braises (1994) by Ken Bugul. It examines the representation of Islam in relation to African women's identity, with particular emphasis on its relationship with the postcolonial context of francophone West Africa. Chapter I reviews the emergence of African francophone literature by women authors and the trends of criticism that developed as a result of it. It also presents the theoretical framework of this research, namely feminist and postcolonial theories inspired by Frantz Fanon and African women theorists. Chapter II of this thesis explores the use of Sufi imagery in Cendres et braises and its metaphorical description of decolonization and of the postcolonial subject. Chapter III examines Comme le bon pain for Islamic elements and their interaction with African traditional beliefs, as it attempts to understand Ndoye's own attitude towards Islam. It briefly reviews definitions of syncretism and what was termed "African Islam." Chapter IV poses the question of whether the two novels can be inscribed within a feminist ideology, specifically in a postcolonial, West African and Muslim context.

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