Mohsin Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is the second in his series of novels, set in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Hamid finds himself in Palo Alto, California at Princeton University, living in the United States for the first time. Hamid grew up in Pakistan and his connection to his home is clear throughout the entire novel. Hamish is living in the states when the Twin Towers are attacked on 9/11 and as a Pakistani man living in the U.S, he consciously notices a social shift as the War on Terror breaks out in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
The attacks on 9/11 were broadcasted on T.V. screens across the nation, acting as propaganda for Al-Qaeda and instilling a new sense of fear and vulnerability in all Americans who had witnessed the terror first hand. The mentality shift is evident, but it is only a result of deliberate political action that expanded beyond the borders of the United States. For the first time in history, not even a month after September 11, 2001 NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time in history, allowing its’ members to “act collectively in self defense” and launch the attacks on Afghanistan that began multiple years of U.S. involvement in the Middle East. This is considered to have first attacks in the War on Terror. Shortly after, sitting president George Bush publicly declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an “axis of evil”. At the time, terrorism was seen as a virus and Americans were certainly trying their hardest to rid the country of anyone who might be associated.
9/11 , the War on Terror, and the resulting social shift showcase the deeply seeded racism within our country for nonwhite citizens. Hamid’s Reluctant Fundamentalist is himself, told in a first-person monologue style. This, in my mind, emphasizes how alone he felt being a brown man in a post 9/11 America.
“The Attacks.” Accessed March 27, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/event/September-11-attacks/The-attacks.
“The Reckoning: America and the World a Decade After 9/11.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 8, 2011. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/sept-11-reckoning/viewer.html?hp=.
Nato. “Collective Defence – Article 5.” NATO, December 3, 2020. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_110496.htm#:~:text=NATO%20invoked%20Article%205%20for%20the%20first%20time,and%20in%20the%20wake%20of%20the%20Russia-Ukraine%20crisis.