Representing Selected Pakistani Diasporic Fiction in Pre 9/11 Context

Abstract

This research explores that how pre-9/11 America is represented in Pakistani diasporic fiction and the effects of this representation on Pakistani Muslim identity with references to religion and culture. It compares the way Pakistani culture and religion are depicted in American cities prior to 9/11, using Aroosa Kanwal's Rethinking Identities in Contemporary Pakistani Fiction: Beyond 9/11 and Samuel P. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations. Using a qualitative interpretive method, the research concludes that both novels illuminate the complexities of religious and diasporic identities, as well as the challenges faced by the Pakistani diaspora. It suggests that further scholarship on post-9/11 fiction be conducted to trace the changes in attitudes and representations of identities throughout the world.

KEYWORDS: 9/11, America, Diaspora, Identity, Religion.