As Ramadan approaches, marking a time of reflection and devotion for nearly two billion Muslims worldwide, the question of how Islam is perceived in the West takes on renewed significance. Few authors have left as lasting an imprint on the German imagination—and its understanding of the Muslim world—as Karl May, whose books have sold around 100 million copies in Germany and another 100 million in the rest of the world (making him the most-translated German author ever). Best known for his adventure novels, his depictions of the American West have cemented Winnetou as a household name. Yet, it is May’s “Orientzyklus”—a sweeping series of novels set in the Islamic world of the 19th century—that has had an arguably more profound impact on Germany’s perception of Islam. Through his protagonist, Kara Ben Nemsi, May crafted a vision of the Muslim world that remains influential to this day, blending admiration, exoticism, and subtle condescension into a narrative that both fascinated and partly misled generations of readers.
An Author, a Hero, and a Perceived Reality
May’s Oriental tales were not mere fiction for his readers; they were absorbed as an authoritative account of the Muslim world. In a 2010 (German) survey, 93% of the readers admitted that May’s works influenced their perception of Islam. His vivid descriptions, filled with adventure and moral lessons, presented Islam as both an alluring and dangerous force—capable of great hospitality and honor but also of fanaticism and backwardness. These impressions resonated with German audiences, many of whom had little direct experience with Islam and thus took May’s novels as a reliable depiction of reality. However, May never actually visited any Muslim countries when he wrote his most influential novels and instead drew all his knowledge from second-hand sources such as popular encyclopaedias.
A crucial element of this effect was the seamless identification of May with his hero, Kara Ben Nemsi. Written in the first person, the "Orientzyklus" positioned the protagonist as a nearly invincible German traveller, who navigates the Islamic world with intelligence, physical prowess, and moral superiority. His counterpart: the stubborn and somewhat fanatic, yet endearing “Hadji” Halef Omar, who tries to convert his German “effendi” to Islam, yet is constantly outwitted by the latter’s superiority when it comes to theological argumentation. Through this iconic couple, May portrayed an Islam that could be noble but needed Western—specifically German—guidance. This notion of the enlightened Westerner civilising (and Christianising) the Orient remains a persistent theme in German perceptions of Islam and made Karl May’s approach quite different from the much more nuanced and Islamophilic depiction in the works of Sir Richard Burton, who wrote in roughly the same period.
The Legacy of May’s “Islambild”
May’s representation of Islam reflected the 19th-century German Orientalist perspective: a mixture of fascination, romanticism, and implicit Eurocentrism. His novels depict Muslim characters in black-and-white terms—either noble allies or villainous schemers. Islam itself is not condemned outright but is portrayed as a faith that, while not inherently evil, lacks the rational clarity and ethic superiority of Christianity. The Muslim world in May’s novels is defined by fatalism, superstition, an uneasy coexistence with European modernity—and a (subconscious) desire for spiritual elevation through Christianisation.
