One of the interesting complexities in this text is that Vathek, identified as an Arab Muslim, is persuaded to reject Islam and follow the path of Satan. Beckford's treatment of the Muslim male is predicated on the idea that he is essentially evil, a homosexual, a pedophile, and a child murderer.

XREF: Connects to Edward Said's Orientalism and the broader Western literary tradition of Orientalist stereotypes about Muslim men.

Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imag…, loc. 511