The Reluctant Fundamentalist tells the story of Changez, a Pakistani man who moved to the United States to attend college at Princeton. Throughout his time in the United States he created different relationships, however the largest being with a women named Erica. As he tells his story, a clear depiction of the changes he goes through as he sees the way the United States truly sees foreigners are shown.
As Changez tells the story of his time in the United States he explains how Princeton created a sense of value to him through US patriotism, engraining the thought that he was valued as a member of the American society and how he will one day use his gifts and knowledge to give back to the country. However, after the events of September 11th, he had quickly gone from being a “valued” member of society and possible future American beneficiary, to a potential future threat.
The persecution of Pakistani Americans quickly took over Changez life, and his eyes were opened to just how situational American tolerance towards foreigners is. His relationship with Erica is hurt, as well as his career and social life.
The persecution of Changes tells a lot, including how the persecution was able to effect all social classes and age groups, however some more than others. From research it is shown that most likely from his economic status, Changez, as a higher member of society, was most likely effected less than those of a lower social class.
After the attacks of September 11th, people groups of the Greater Middle East living in America were treated with great disrespect and injustice. Pakistani students were harassed by teachers, and employers treated unfairly from their employers.
In Salt Lake City on September 13th, 2001, a Pakistani owned restaurant was burned to the ground by a man who later plead guilty to the crime. Again on September 13th, 2001, a man set fire to multiple cars outside of an Islamic Mosque. A group of four were all arrested after threatening and plotting to attack an Islamic Education Center.
These crimes were not only committed to attack individual Middle Eastern and Islamic peoples, but used as a way to drive out an entire culture from the actions of few. For many, including the character Changez, these actions worked, and were what ultimately fueled his Anti-American teachings back in Pakistan.
The United States has shown that people are only accepted when they have something to offer, and when something goes wrong rather than combat the problem with competency and reason, simply make a scapegoat of an entire people group.
This form of treatment is what drove Changez away from the United States and fueled his anti-American agenda back in Pakistan. Both the character Changez as well as the American view of Middle Eastern foreigners changed throughout the story.
Works Cited
Combating post-9/11 discriminatory backlash. (2015, August 06). Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.justice.gov/crt/combating-post-911-discriminatory-backlash-6
I really enjoyed reading your presentation. You did a great job of introducing us to the text we will be reading this week, and the ideas that we will focus on. I knew that the treatment of Middle Eastern people in the US after 9/11 was bad, but it is much different to hear it from their point of view.
Thanks for your post! This is a situation in which the power of a single story can be seen. Pakistani Americans were attacked because of the image created for them by a small group of people. It is sad to see that even twenty years later many people in America still treat them so poorly.
Hello, I really enjoyed reading your post! I thought what you said about the United State’s tolerance of immigrants is “situational” was very intelligently said and I couldn’t agree more. It has been almost 20 years since the original attack and there is still an increasing amount discrimination and hate crimes aimed at Muslims. It would be very eye opening to hear other stories of immigrants like Changez and learn how their lives were changed after the event on September 11th, 2001 as well.
Great work on this post! I really think that this gave us a great insight into the reading this week and the environment of the country at the time that it is focused on. I also liked how you ended with the recognition that Americans have a single story of this topic and need to have their view broadened
Having friends who practice Islam, and growing up in a post-9/11 America, I can corroborate the types of mistreatment that Muslim Americans can face. I’ve seen first hand the racist and islamophobic words that people say or perpetuate. It is very interesting to see the same expereinces percolate into other readings because it helps gain a different view on the same topic.
This is a great presentation and one that has needed to be talked about and discussed. What happened on 9/11 was a horrific event and done by a terrorist group and a terrorist group ONLY. We cannot stereotype all Pakistani or middle eastern people based off this event, that is unfair and not right. I love how you said “The United States has shown that people are only accepted when they have something to offer..” because that is very true and what society has deemed as acceptable. More needs to be done to stop these stereotypes and injustices.
Thank you for the great post! 9/11 was clearly a terrible tragedy that lead to a great deal of chaotic thinking, and this form of thinking lead to a lot of misguided hatred. Many people placed the blame on a certain demographic (Pakistanis) even when the vast majority of them were just as against the events as everyone else. One of the most dangerous types of stereotype is believing that all people in a certain group hold hatred against you.
Hi, this is great work. I truly enjoyed reading about how people don’t even think twice about who and how it will affect someone. Many times the really bad cases get left un-said and causes for a build up of hatred and emotion. I think several of these examples mentioned above are great. I would like to add on the fact that no one should build their own reputation for a group except the group of people themselves. A lot of times hatred is aimed at people and they don’t even know why.
Great post! I really appreciate the research and examples you used in this context presentation. I live 10 miles from the World Trade Center and 9/11 is especially remembered in my area. My mother even witnessed the event from our house where she was pregnant with me and my father was working in NYC during the time of the event. Of course, 9/11 should never be forgotten, it is time for us to put the prejudice and racism in the past. I also agree that Erica’s symbolism as American and Changez’s Pakistani culture plays an important role of identity in the novel.
Thank you for this presentation Ethan. It was really helpful before reading this text to get an understanding of what it was about and the surrounding reasons of this text. I thought it was effective to include the attacks that happened on the 13th after the 9/11 attack. It really shows how the US made the country divide rather than try to help everyone.
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your context presentation for this week! This horrific event happened in the United States when I was about 3-4 years old, so I found it really interesting to know what really happened during that time. It is so heartbreaking to hear all the hate crimes and changes that happened to the people who were Pakistani. It was shocking how the restaurant and the Islamic Mosque were attacked just because they were associated with the culture. These were innocent people who had nothing to do with 9/11, yet they were still being attacked.
Thank you for this great post! I think the idea of America only accepting others when they have something productive to offer to the country is really interesting and certainly holds some truth to it. It’s sad to see how we are now experiencing a similar wave on generalized aggression towards a specific culture due to Covid-19, with many Asian Americans being targeted with undeserved anger.
This was a great topic to cover for your context presentation as it is very relevant to our readings this week. The 9/11 attacks were an awful occurrence that has scarred our nation, but it is important to realize that Pakistanis cannot be blamed for this event. It was one group that was responsible and the risk of a single story caused a larger group to suffer for years after the event. Great post!
Hello! This is a really great post. I think bringing attention to America’s habit of blaming entire groups for the actions and perceived actions of a few is incredibly important. In a way, we are seeing an example of this today with the increased violence against Asian Americans correlating with COVID-19. Simply because it is believed to have started in China, Asian individuals of all backgrounds and ethnicities are being attacked and blamed for the entirety of the pandemic. It is incredibly unfair and shows just how deep the room racism and systematic racism runs in America.
I really enjoyed this post! Admittedly, I never considered how the events of 9/11 affected Pakistanis and Pakistani Americans. These are important stories and I love how we’re diving into them through The Reluctant Fundamentalist. I like how you explained the the nature of the US government and how it makes scapegoats of groups of people instead of telling the real story. I think this is reminiscent of how Americans are reacting to COVID-19 and pointing aggression towards Asians and Asian Americans.
This post reminded my of the current Stop Asian Hate movement. There have been many acts of violence towards Asians because the Americans were “taught” that Asians brought COVID-19 and that it is their fault. This is somewhat similar to the hate crimes towards Muslims after the 9/11 events. It’s sad to see the trend continue and the government not doing much, if anything, about it.
Hi! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and research. I really enjoyed reading you post. I think since I was so young when 9/11 happened, I am not told exactly what went on. In school, we were taught that it was a terrorist attack and after the attack, Americans banded together. They did not tell us that American people attacked other American people who were from the Middle East and Islamic area. They did not tell us that these people were driven away from America. I think these are important details to share during school in order to properly educate the youth and let them know why Middle Eastern and Islamic people are so Anti-American.
Thank you for your post! You gave a very clear explanation about how 9/11 affect different kinds of people’s lives. I didn’t think so many innocent people would get hurt because of 9/11. Fear makes people angry, so people form opinions about certain groups of people. This is very sad.
Thank you for your presentation! I think you did a great job of illustrating the injustices that people of the Greater Middle East living in America faced following 9/11. I found the examples that you discussed to be very sad, but they are clear examples of this injustice. i also enjoyed how you highlighted how Changez perspective of America changes as the story goes on. Great post!
Thank you for your post! When 9/11 happened I was still very young and I couldn’t recall anything about it, but I do realize that it might be one of the most important things that happened in US history. I never thought about how this could change some people’s lives so significantly. I feel sorry for the lives lost in the incident also sorry for those people who are seriously affected after 9/11.
Thank you very much for sharing, you summed up the whole story process in great detail. And by describing the clue of Erica, you analyzed the emergence of fundamentalists in American society in the story and the harm they caused to Changez from the American perspective. There is no doubt that the existence of fundamentalists has harmed many innocent people. We should summarize the mistakes we have made before, and call on more people to look at the problem rationally and objectively, and not to become an ignorant fundamentalist.