After 9/11, Pakistanis discovered that Americans were very dissatisfied with them. Because Americans thought Pakistanis and Afghans were the same kind of people, Muslims. Although Pakistan has nuclear weapons, in fact, they have always been afraid of the huge country around them. All this is something that ordinary Americans won’t notice, so Hamid will write it out. This novel does not use the experience of a real terrorist to reflect the treatment of Muslims in America. In fact, the theme of this novel is to enter a psychological state of what kind of people will be terrorists. And the protagonist Changez in the book also shows the discrimination against Muslims in American society with two completely different attitudes.
Before 9/11, Changez’s future was bright. He graduated from the top Ivy League school with the best grades, and then entered an excellent evaluation company on Wall Street. But after 9/11, his life changed completely. Because of his appearance, you can tell at a glance that he is from the Middle East. He began to feel that all the Americans he met in his life were malicious to him. He went back and forth to Pakistan and became a university teacher. Maybe he has returned to a place where he will not be prejudiced, but his hatred of American society has not disappeared. There is also a love line in this book, interspersed with Changez’s growing dislike of America. Of course, the ending of this love is not good either, with the disappearance of the girl as the end point.
There is a news in 2016 that reflects the government’s attitude towards Muslims.In December, Trump called to ban all Muslim travel to the U.S. (he has since called for “extreme vetting” of people from “territories” with a history of terror, though the ban is still a position on his campaign website).The heightened rhetoric has exposed an alarming trend that has developed since 9/11 — Muslims are constantly and consistently cast as somehow un-American because of their faith.The 9/11 attacks – carried out by 19 Islamic extremists – have no doubt changed how Muslim-Americans are perceived in this country, and those feelings have simmered for 15 years now. I think the government’s attitude is undoubtedly important, because the government’s views will often affect people’s choices. When the government treats Muslims and Middle Easterners critically, their situation is undoubtedly difficult. Because I’m a Chinese, I can’t empathize with the harm caused by the 9/11 incident to American society. But I think there is no doubt that terrorists should be punished.
Hope and Despair: Being Muslim in America After 9/11 Sept. 11, 2016, 10:07 PM CST / Updated Sept. 11, 2016, 10:07 PM CST By Aliyah Frumin and Amanda Sakuma
Hey good work on your post! I think it´s interesting that people in america was so uneducated and thought pakistani people and people from afghanistan came from the same place. it´s also very true what you said about how people´s views and opinions often are inspired by the government, it´s an important thing to consider.