Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

Hamid Mohsin is a British citizen of Pakistani descent. He has a profound impression of Pakistani intelligentsia and is a renowned name in English fiction of the contemporary era. He got famous for his second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalism, which has become his identity in English literature. This novel was published in 2007 in London. This was also shortlisted for the “booker prize”. The novel has been translated into more than 30 languages. This novel has been filmed too.

The reluctant fundamentalism is a monologue. In which only one person is constantly talking. The story of this novel starts at a tea house located on Mall Road in Lahore. Two strangers meet at the city’s most famous tea house. One of them is Genghis. Who recognizes an American citizen and starts talking to him. Genghis tells the American citizen that he too has lived in the United States. He has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in the United States. After this, he got a job in a well-known company Underwood Summon. Genghis is the brightest young man in the company. Which, of course, made the company budget double in a short time. Jim, the owner of the company, becomes a friend of Genghis. he sends Genghis on behalf of the company to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, for a business transaction. Genghis returns to New York after a successful visit. Where he meets Erica. Soon Erica and Genghis become friends. And the series of meetings go on. Meanwhile, Genghis realizes that Erica is constantly upset. He finds out the reason, Chris, who was Erica’s friend. Chris, who lost his life in a car accident, is the reason for Erica’s upset. Genghis advises his friend Erica to consider Genghis as Chris. He shows his love for Erica. It helps to get out of the shell of depression. This is how the two become good friends. In the meantime, Genghis gets a vacation from the company, and he goes on vacation to Greece. On his return from Greece, he learned that al-Qaeda had crashed planes into the World Trade Center building. This is a huge accident, known to the world as 9/11.

US President George W. Bush declares war on terror. US troops begin bombing Genghis neighbor, Afghanistan. Genghis is very sorry to hear all this and in his heart, he supports the Taliban. Because after this incident, the attitude of the Americans changed completely from Genghis. They look at it with suspicion. He becomes a victim of prejudice everywhere from the company to the sides of his residence and from there to Erica’s house. Erica, he loved the most in the world. He also enjoyed all the comforts of life from alcohol to Kabab. He was not a practical Muslim. He did not go near fasting and prayers. He was only a nominal Muslim. Yet everyone’s attitudes change with it. He decides to leave the United States and comes to Pakistan from America. Genghis takes two dreams from Lahore to America. One is for the sake of an American girl and the other is an American dream (progress and prosperity) that draws her to America. Which later become the basis for leaving the United States.

After saying this, Genghis tells his American colleague. That now both of them should leave, the tea man is waiting for us. When they both go out, Genghis tells him that in the eyes of Americans, Pakistanis are potential terrorists, just as Americans are secret assassins. Here the story of the novel ends. This novel explains the Clash of Civilizations. Genghis adopts the American environment, language, way of life, demeanor, and lifestyle, still, he cannot become an American and he is punished for being a Muslim. It’s a difficult, slightly boring novel at first. But as the story of this novel unfolds. This novel gets stuck inside and the reader breathes a sigh of relief. Oh! The story of Genghis is the story of every Muslim in the world who was treated as a terrorist after nine eleven tragedy.