Hamdard Islamicus (Jun 2024)
THE MUSLIM DIASPORA’S NATIONALISM AND IDENTITY IN KAMILA SHAMSIE’S HOME FIRE
Abstract
The paper deals with Kamila Shamsie’s novel Home Fire to explore the profound social and psychological aspects and identity conflicts Muslim immigrants face in the West, especially in Britain. The importance of this paper is to express the conflict that the Muslim expatriate experiences in his relationship with the West and explore the reasons that affect their tolerance and coexistence. The paper’s problem manifests in exploring significant facets of human interactions, including tolerance, the increasing migrations from Islamic nations to non-Muslim countries, and the challenges arising from identity, religion, and race, which expose migrants to significant perils. The Method uses a social theoretical framework that intersects with the psychological approach. It investigates how both the original and new environments affect character development and individuals' psychological, developmental, and cognitive dimensions in the Muslim Diaspora. It aims to understand the reasons behind involvement in terrorist organizations and also examines the citizenship rights of Muslim Diaspora members. Finally, the paper concludes by presenting the most prominent results, which collectively illustrate that the aggressive style of fiction has influenced the presence of paranoia in literary criticism, leading to an exaggeration of the crimes of others and justification of the self. This is not conducive to objective and neutral analysis, so adopting a more moderate and neutral approach is recommended to allow for open discussion and acceptance of differing viewpoints. This approach should address questions of identity and national belonging.
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