The Future Relationship between Americans and Pakistanis in 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'

Running head: ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT 1
The future relationship between Americans and Pakistanis in the context of the novel ‘The
Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by Mohsin Hamid

ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT 2
Table of Contents
The novel.........................................................................................................................................3
Impact of 9/11 attacks on Americans, Muslims and world as a whole...........................................3
Brief Description of Characters.......................................................................................................4
Characterization of Muslims in the world.......................................................................................4
Relationship between Americans and Pakistanis in the context of the novel..................................5
The future.........................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT 3
The novel
The following report deals with analyzing the book named The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid (Wilson, 2017). The author has highlighted about the 9/11 attacks terrorist
attacks in New York and how it shaped his perception of the current relationship between
Americans and Pakistanis as well as perception of Americans. According to Findlay (2015, pp.
201), the author in his book has stated the aftermath of the horrendous attacks of 9/11 from his
personal life experience. The report will also focus on understanding the perception of the author
on the concept of fundamentalism and the characterization of Muslims in the eyes of the world.
The characters of the novel highlighted the struggles of the Muslims in the world as well as
define acute knowledge of the Muslim society as compared to the views of the world which
gives the novel a multicultural dimension. The highlight of the report will be to analyze how the
9/11 attacks and its aftermath contributed to the awakening from his American dream and hopes
to see better relations between American and Pakistan.
Impact of 9/11 attacks on Americans, Muslims and world as a whole
According to Udice (2018), the attacks on Twin Towers and Pentagon took place on
September 11, 2001, infamously called as the 9/11 attacks on USA. Although it has been more
than a decade of the attacks, there are still after effects of the devastating terrorist attack that
have not yet dissipated. It not only has impacted America but also has vastly impacted the
Muslims all over the world. From increased security to increasing biasness against Muslims can
be still felt today. Talking about the world, there is a continuous military surveillance on
countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. The ongoing war between the Muslim prevalent
countries and USA has been the most persistent effects of the 9/11 attacks. The homeland
security has increased leaving no stones unturned to pin down any suspicious activity in
countries at risk. There has been an increase in pervasive religious biasness against Muslims
making it harder for Muslims to stay in US in the last 10 years (Udice, 2018). The world has
suffered the impact due to increasing number of deportations and immigration restrictions in
response to terrorist activities. Although this has increased the efforts made by Americans to
seek patriotism, spirituality and volunteerism but the country has lost its hope to have a cordial
relation with Pakistan even in terms of trade. According to Afzal (2018), the US-Pakistan

ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT 4
relationship has always been complex and turbulent due to lack of a shared vision and lack of
strategies that could strengthen the ties between the countries.
Brief Description of Characters
The main characters of the novel are Changez, Erica, Jim, Chris, and Wainwright.
Changez is the main protagonist in the novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Changez has been
seen as being Americanized in the beginning of the novel but soon after the attacks of 9/11,
Changez had a hard time deciding whether to remain loyal to America or Pakistan. Erica being
the love interest of Changez. Erica has been characterized as the radiant and strong dream about
America. Chris is the childhood friend and boyfriend of Erica who never physically appears in
the novel. Jim is seen as the superior during his stay in the firm. Wainwright is shown working
with Changez.
Characterization of Muslims in the world
According to many surveys, US has a different perspective on Muslims when looked at
the community as a whole. US has faced turbulent terrorists attack and this has been perceived as
a setback in their relations. Muslims in the US perceive a lot of racism and biasness against their
religious group. According to Pew Research Centre (2017), a majority of Muslims face
discrimination even after the prevalence of anti-discrimination laws against the citizens. On the
contrary, Muslim Americans are proud to be Americans and would hard to bring success in the
country. Whereas half of the Muslims claim that their lives have been difficult especially after
the 9/11 attacks. They receive unfriendly banter from Americans saying to vacate their country.
Although the terrorist activities have soured the relation between the countries, people like
Mohsin Hamid, author of the book named The Reluctant Fundamentalist have high hopes on his
American dream. Muslims believe that religion is an important part of their lives and follow it
with utmost dedication. The Muslims as a community have an unfavorable view of the terrorist
groups prevailing in other countries. Generally, Muslims don not support terrorism and other
forms of violence against civilians in the name of Islam. But claims suggest that there are no
suggested evidence to how Muslims feel about. As per Frumin & Sakuma (2016), the aftermaths
of 9/11 has affected the Muslims residing in any part of the world and this has changed the
perception of people on them. According to the author, Mohsin Hamid, he tried to live his life
being both American and Pakistani and decided not to choose either of the religion but embrace