Listening to The Reluctant Fundamentalist:

Aural Recognition in a Post-9/11 Democracy

Abstract

This article centers on Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) and explores the challenges of reciprocal recognition and the impact of power dynamics on trust between the West and Muslim communities in post 9/11 America. Bart Moore-Gilbert's critique of existing models of recognition politics; specifically, models developed by Fukuyama and Taylor, reveals the limitations in addressing the Muslim experience and Islamic fundamentalism within western liberal-democratic societies. The failure of ocular-centric approaches – prevalent in the western tradition – to adequately represent the Muslim experience, guides me towards sound theories which provides the theoretical underpinning to this analysis. Thus, I denote this shift as a practice in decolonial listening. Drawing on Nicole Furlonge’s analytical framework of “listen in print” and the concept of “aural recognition”, I argue for a more comprehensive recognition through an aurally-engaged practice of reading and political engagement. Ultimately, I advocate for listening in order to develop trust and for a compassionate stance towards lives and encounters of Muslim minorities in post 9/11 America.