DUNE: RELIGION, CULTURE, RACE, and WORLD BUILDING

In-depth look at the ethnic diversity of Dune, both Frank Herbert’s original novel, and Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming adaptation.

1. WAR AGAINST MACHINES, AND THE ORANGE CATHOLIC BIBLE
Thousands of years before the beginning of Dune, humanity endured a Great Revolt. Which culminated in the destruction of all artificial intelligence. Reshaping all of civilization.

There is one creed, one law all humanity now abide by. “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.”

However as we see from this exchange between Paul and the Reverend Mother, this goes much deeper then just AI being “bad”. Which is why the Orange Catholic Bible is so influential to humanity and the known universe.

Their greatest command is ‘Thou shalt not disfigure the soul.’ And it is directly connected to the creed from above. The Great Schools wanted to use religion, and this universal sentiment as the focal point, to unite humanity and prevent another Great Revolt from wiping us out.

The Orange Catholic Bible is also referred to as the Accumulated Book. The leaders of all the religions of the known universe (every faith with more than a million followers) had a representative meet "in the common belief that there exists a Divine Essence in the universe."

From this came the O.C Bible, originating from the concept that in every religion, in some form, is that great commandment. And thus, the O.C.B became deeply rooted in human society as it evolved into the Imperium we know in Dune.

It contained Judaeo-Christian scriptures, the Quran, Hindu/Buddhist scriptures, Zensunni, and some ancient religions, and even newly developed ones. Some examples of these include Genesis, Saari, Puranas, Tao, and Analects.

The Quran was one of the texts that was the least shaved down/condensed when making the O.C.B (another example is the Book of Job making it through almost completely untouched). Which is part of why Islam is so influential in all parts of the Dune universe.

Not all Muslims speak Arabic, but since the Quran is written mostly in Arabic, most have some understanding of it. Again why so many people in the Imperium use Arabic words. Because the O.C.B is so ingrained in culture that it is reflected in language and speech.

Two devoted followers of the O.C Bible are Gurney Halleck and Dr. Wellington Yueh.

In the Dune logo, as pointed out by @SecretsofDune, the eight pointed Islamic star is formed. Showcasing the importance of Islam in this universe, right up front.

2. THE FREMEN AND ZENSUNNI ORIGINS
There has been some debate about the film in terms of Middle Eastern/Arabic and Islamic representation. People believe it isn’t reflected properly in the casting. But that is not true.

To begin with, Frank refrained from giving specifics on character ethnicity except on specific important occasions, mostly just providing vague physical descriptions. Because the story is set 20,000 years in the future when ethnicity is not comprehensible to today.

I believe when people hear that Dune has Middle Eastern and Islamic influence, particularly in regard to the Fremen, their minds automatically go to Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Syria. But that shows a limited understanding of what the Middle East is.

It also doesn’t help that many people call Dune, Lawrence of Arabia in space. Which would have been an almost immediate association by the unaware public, since both Herbert’s novel and the film released in the 60s.

However while there may be some surface level similarities, they aren’t that alike. One similarity is they both happened to film in Jordan. However Denis choosing Jordan to film Arrakis has nothing to do with the Fremen, but instead his personal vision of the Arrakis landscape.

So there was a subconscious association about what Middle Eastern meant in regard to Dune, one that wasn’t entirely accurate. Because the Middle East is bigger then you might realize.

Now let’s look at the Fremen. Historically they were followers of the Zensunni religion, an amalgamation of Zen Buddhism and Sunni Islam. They were also slaves to the Harkonnens.

However after escaping they fled to Arrakis where they found freedom. Hence their name, Fremen. Free Men. But since coming to Arrakis, their own cultural religion has developed beyond Zensunni to focus uniquely and deeply on Arrakis.

At this point in history, ethnicity and religion aren’t connected the way it is for us. So the Fremen were united based on shared religion and oppression. But as Middle Eastern influence is such a fundamental part of Dune, let’s try and trace some sort of ethnicity to the Fremen.

Not much is known about the Zensunni, so we will have to rely on what we know about Zen Buddhism and Sunni Islam. The Zen part of is likely influenced by the O.C.B, highlighting its prevalence. However connections may have also come about through the history of Islam in China.

So let’s focus on Sunni shall we? Shia Islam is the majority Islamic faith in places like Iraq and Iran. Ruling out the area of the Middle East most people associate with Dune. Where as Sunni is the major Islamic faith in places like South Asia, China and Egypt.

We have something significant highlighted here. Sunni Islam in Africa.

Africa was one of the first places Islam spread to from Southwest Asia, and most Muslims in Africa are non-denominational or Sunni. Islam has a particularly large presence in North Africa.

So let’s go back to our maps of the Middle East. What we see here is the traditional Middle East, and the Greater Middle East. Egypt is present in the traditional Middle East, it’s primary faith being Sunni Islam, and the Greater Middle East encompasses the rest of North Africa.

So what does that tell us? It tells us Middle Eastern and Islamic influences from the Fremen, can be traced back to North Africa. And this is what North African people look like.

So let’s take another look at the cast of Dune then shall we? In short, this is the most accurate depiction of Herbert’s Fremen, we’ve ever seen.

To sum up, the Fremen have historical roots in North Africa, are therefore black, but since Dune takes place 20,000 years into the future, that is why they are not in any way homogenized and have people like Javier Bardem’s Stilgar among them.

3. ISLAM ON CALADAN, AND GREEK HERITAGE
Islam has been a religion practiced outside of the Middle East for centuries. It is a major global religion. However the Fremen are not the only manifrstation of Islam in Herbert’s universe.

We covered that do to the Orange Catholic Bible, Islam and Arabic are common and deeply rooted in the civilization that makes up the Imperium. However I would like to specifically talk about Caladan here, because what Denis has done, is gone above and beyond my expectations.

You remember the eight pointed star I mentioned earlier? Well information has come to light, that it was also build physically into the Caladan set. https://twitter.com/secretsofdune/status/1299053073516687361?s=21

Why is this so significant? Because it shows Denis knows Herbert’s world building to it’s core. Because aside from Islam being important to the Imperium as a whole, Caladan specifically has ties to Arabic culture and Islam on their own planet.

First is the Pundi Rice farmers. Pundi is a staple dietary food on Caladan, and a profitable export. Pundi originated from Mangalore, which is an Arabian Sea port in the Indian state of Karnataka. If you remember, India is in South Asia, and their major Islamic faith is Sunni.

Next is directly related to the Atriedes family themselves. As we all know, the Atriedes are of Greek descent. And Greece has its own long history with Islam, from varied ethnic groups to ethnic Greek converts.

So building the Islamic star into the Caladan set, shows a profound understanding and respect for Herbert’s world building.

While we are talking about the Atriedes Greek heritage, I have seen people ask why Oscar Isaac a Guatemalan man, is playing the father to Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atriedes.

And the answer can be explained in two ways. First, how mixed much of society is. Plus bullfighting which the family is associated with, is practiced in Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru. Originating from Roman mythology.

The other answer, is that Oscar Isaac has portrayed ethnic Greek more in the past. Once as Orestes (who is actually related to the Atriedes, both descendants of Agamemnon) and in The Two Faces of January, he actually learnt to speak some Greek.

As for Timothée as his son, caucasian actors have portrayed his children in past films, and on top of that Paul is specifically described in the book as taking after his mother in skin tone and face shape.

4. FRAMES OF REFERENCE
This will list off a couple references to what I am talking about above, so you can check it out yourself if ever interested.

Fremen place of origin is actually heavily implied in the book. In chapter 37 where Jessica encounters the Fremen Reverend Mother, she uses their word for themselves. The people of the Misr, who escaped from the Nilotic al-Ourouba.

Miṣr is the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt. Nilotic al-Ourouba would be the name of Old Earth locations encompassing Egypt, the Nile Valley and additional areas of North Africa. These references seem to suggest Sudanese Nilo-Saharan speaking people.

Because "Al-Ourouba" literally translates as "the Arabicity", this likely suggest a combination of Arab and Nilotic populations, describing a mixed-ethnic cultural background.

The references to Greek heritage I’m highlighting is one brought up by the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother in Chapter 4 I believe. She calls him the descendant of kings. We get to hear part of this in the trailer. This is referring to the Atriedes being related to Agamemnon.

The mythology surrounding the House of Atriedes goes back to Tantalus, son of Zeus. Since then the “curse” on this house grew. On many occasions descendants murdered one another to take the throne. It wasn’t till Agamemnon’s son Orestes pleaded to Athena was the curse “broken”.