The Reluctant Fundamentalist

1. The Reluctant Fundamentalist The Pakistan-U.S. relationship

2. Learning Objective • To understand some key points about the relationship between America and Pakistan. • To explain some of the reasons why Changez’ character feels bitterness toward America.

3. Pakistan • Is not in the Middle East. • It is South Asia • Pakistanis are not Arabs, they do not speak Arabic • Pakistanis are mostly Muslims. Indians are mostly not Muslims (although there is a very large Muslim population in India)

4. The story begins… • The story begins in the Old Anarkali district in Lahore, Pakistan where Changezintroduces himself to an American man. • Changezis originally from this city, Lahore, which is the second biggest in Pakistan. • Each chapter of the novel begins and ends with their conversation in Lahore, which is really a ‘dramatic monologue’- more about this term later.

5. Pakistan Pop: 170,000,000

6. Where Pakistan Isn’t • Pakistan is not in the Middle East • Arabic people do not live in Pakistan Pakistan

7. Where Pakistan Is

8. Lahore

9. Key terms • Imperial – grand, regal, royal • Empire – territory, kingdom, domain • Partition – divider, barrier • NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization – an intergovernmental military alliance – based on the North Atlantic Treaty signed in 1949. • Dramatic Monologue - A single character utters the speech that makes up the whole story, in a specific situation.This person addresses and interacts with one or more other people; and we learn what they say and do, only from clues in the discourse of the single speaker. • Post September 11 literature – literature written after the events of 9/11 – the events have an impact on the story/character/themes dealt with • Sanctions – restrictions, bans

10. Changez’s shame • Changez feels ashamed of Lahore’s decline from a majestic, imperial capital to a poorly run and funded shadow of its former greatness. • As Changez mentions, Lahore owes its rich history to the many empires within which it operated. • Changez comes to feel strongly that Pakistan’s reliance on U.S. aid is cause for shame.

11. The Mughal Empire-1526-1857 • These were Lahore’s ‘glory days’. • The empire was known for its great architecture and artistic accomplishments, including the TajMahal in India. • The Mughal empire declined in the middle of the 19th century.

12. TajMahal

13. More recent history • Pakistan became part of the British Empire in 1857 and remained so until the British Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. • Lahore suffered greatly during this time because of initial confusion about the India-Pakistan border. Violence broke out as Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs attempted to move from one territory to another.

14. Game Changer • In the early 1980s, Pakistan became the eighth nation in the world and first Muslim nation to possess nuclear weapons

15. 9/11 and the War on Terror • On September, 2001, the United States experienced a terrorist attack directed at several major landmarks. • Two of the four highjacked jets crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, eventually causing them to collapse. • Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks. • Where were the terrorists mostly from?

16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKZqqSI9-s&feature=player_embedded#!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKZqqSI9-s&feature=player_embedded#!

17. Paradigm Shift • Paradigms are boundaries • To shift is to change • A paradigm shift is where there is a change in basic assumptions • 9/11 caused a paradigm shift in America’s assumptions of how the world saw them

18. President Bush • The next day, President Bush declared the terrorist attacks acts of war. • That same day, the United States received the support of Britain, Pakistan, NATO and the UN Security Council. • In the next two days, President Bush approved a military plan to combat the Taliban, who seemed to blame for the attacks,in Afghanistan. • Why was this important for Pakistan?

20. Pakistan’s support • Pakistan continued to support the US by demanding that the Taliban surrender Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the attacks. • Prior to the September 11 attacks in 2001, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were key supporters of the Taliban in Afghanistan. • Pakistan provided the U.S. a number of military airports and bases for its attack on Afghanistan, along with other logistical support. • The United States lifted sanctions on Pakistan and India that had been in place since 1998 because of both country’s nuclear tests.

21. What did Pakistan get? • In return for their military support, Pakistan: • Had sanctions lifted • Has received about $10 billion in U.S. aid since 2001, primarily militarily. • In June 2004, President George W. Gush designated Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally making it eligible, among other things, to purchase advanced American military technology.

22. Changez and the War on Terror ‘Afghanistan was Pakistan’s neighbour, our friend, and a fellow Muslim nation besides, and the sight of what I took to be the beginning of its invasion by your countrymen caused me to tremble with fury.’ p. 114

23. Questions • What parts of Pakistani history are important to the novel? • What happened on 9/11 and how did the International Community respond? • Why does Changez feel proud but also ashamed of his home city, Lahore? • How did September 11 change the relationship between America and Pakistan? What was the relationship like before September 11? What changed?

24. The Ending – Spoiler alert!! • What does this mean for the ending? • It has been suggested that an interpretation of the ending depends on the reader’s background and experience. • As a result of Sept. 11 the world suddenly became paranoid and suspicious of people from countries like Pakistan. • So is it this paranoia from America and Western countries that leads us to interpret Changez’ actions as sinister and violent? • Are we being judgmental? • Is this the point of the novel?