BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Political Context:

The United States:

The terrorist attacks of September 11 2001:

• When Changez leaves Pakistan to study at Princeton he recognises that he becomes a guest of the most economically advanced country in the world.
• However, the security of the American lifestyle is soon compromised by the events of 9/11.
• A series of suicide attacks targeted the USA:
• Two hijacked aircrafts (American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175) crashed into the World Trade Centre of New York causing the Twin Towers to collapse. This resulted in 2996 deaths  and over 6000 injuries.
• A five hijackers flew a third aircraft (American Airlines Flight 77) into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
• A forth flight (United Airlines Flight 93), controlled by four hijackers, crashed near in rural Pennsylvania.
• There were no survivors from any of the aircrafts.
• The attacks have since been attributed to Al-Qaeda, an Islamist group which is believed to have originated in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the late 1980s.

The 'War on Terror':

• The terrorist attacks lead to the formation of the Global War on Terrorism (referred to as the War on Terror  by George W Bush, the US president at the time), an international military campaign.
• As part of their project to combat the threat of  terrorism, the US invaded Afghanistan, and later Iran (2003) in attempt to remove the oppressive Taliban regime which harboured Al-Qaeda.

America as a nation:

• The 9/11 terrorist attacks led to an increase of national security, a tightening of immigration laws and greater censorship. 
• In the immediate aftermath of the events, there was an overwhelming surge of patriotism amongst the American public:
• The American flag appeared everywhere showing that all citizens stood 'united' as they grieved for the victims of the attacks.
• IN THE NOVEL...
• Changez faces the hostility of his colleges as well as discrimination.
• "I was aware of being under suspicion."
• "When we arrived I, was separated from my team at immigration.They joined the queue for American citizens; I joined the one for foreigners."
• "Perhaps you have drawn certain conclusions from my appearance"
• Changez quickly becomes afraid of being attacked as there was an increase in suspicion, verbal abuse and attacks against people and institutions believed to be Muslim in post 9/11 America.
• "Pakistani cabdrivers were being beaten […] the FBI was raiding mosques, shops, and even people’s houses."

Pakistan:

Changez often contrasts the powerful America with his home country, Pakistan.

"Four thousand years ago, we, the people of the Indus River basin, had cities that were laid out on grids and boasted underground sewers, while the ancestors of those who would invade and colonize America were illiterate barbarians. Now our cities were largely unplanned, unsanitary affairs, and America had universities with individual endowments greater than our national budget for education."

"[Underwood Samson's] offices were perched on the forty-first and forty-second floors of a building in midtown - higher than any two structures here in Lahore would be if they were stacked one atop the other."

Historical Context 

"The Reluctant Fundamentalist explores the world, particularly the United States and Pakistan, during the late 90s and early 2000s. The single most important historical event in the novel is the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11. 2001: Hamid shows how the events of this day inspired the War on Terror in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, as well as the impact of that act on the social world of the United States. The India-Pakistan Standoff of 2001-2002, which makes Changez fear for his family’s safety, is another important event in the novel. Finally, Hamid alludes to the early 2000s recession, which coincided with the dot-com bubble “bursting,” and led to increased unemployment around the world." LitCharts