My Name Is Red tells a tale of Black who has been summoned by his uncle, Enishte, to help in solving the murder of Elegant and also help in writing an illuminated book. Black was sent to exile twelve years ago after he started an affair with his cousin Shekure. As a result, he is happy to get back home. Black longs to meet Shekure. After getting back to Istanbul, Black makes love with Shekure. Before long, Enishte is also killed. Black vows to identify the killers of both Elegant and Enishte. After several setbacks, he positively identifies Olive as the killer.
The story is based on the cultural conflict of painting between the West and the Islamic world. The conflict between techniques of illustrations reflects different ways in which people in these worlds perceive things through art. Conservative painters in Turkey, such as the three miniaturists, believe that some paintings are against Allah. Miniature illustrators believe that painting a figure of a real person violates religious law. However, in the Western world, such a perspective is retrogressive. All the paintings in the Western world are interpreted in the human perspective view.
Islamic culture is mainly displayed in the book. People are cautious of their deeds lest they offend Allah. Activities such as Islamic manuscript illustrations are highly condemned by local preachers. Paintings that are perceived to go against religious law are not tolerated. Writing novels about real people is viewed as a sin. Therefore, people should write books about a story.
