This paper, initially published in the Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, examines representations of Western Orientalist and Sudanese-Muslim masculinities in Leila Aboulela’s 1999 novel The Translator. Brendan Smyth examines how the text avoids reproducing hyper-masculine dichotomies of “East” versus “West” or the “clash of civilizations”. Instead, he demonstrates how the narrative articulates progressive, socially-engaged forms of masculinity rooted in the so-called “East” (Islam, the Sudan) as the only viable alternative to discourses of cultural superiority and patriarchy. An important analysis of a novel that is thematically relevant to our times, this article is ideal secondary reading for scholars of women’s and gender studies, comparative literature, and postcolonial studies.