Religious Re-signification of "Fundamentalism" in Mohsin Hamid's "The Reluctant Fundamentalism"

9/11 attacks has turned “fundamentalism” to one of the most used words in the media, and among intellectuals around the world, especially in the West. Many books have been written to investigate the probable reasons of the emergence of the phenomenon. Literature, and specifically fiction, has also abundantly contributed to the discussions about fundamentalism. Mohsin Hamid, the well-known Pakistani writer, in his novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) treated fundamentalism from a new perspective. The present article will first discuss the famous theoretical books written about fundamentalism, then  through applying them to The Reluctant Fundamentalist, will try to suggest the ways Hamid has meaningfully contributed to the discussion. The article will try to show that how The Reluctant Fundamentalist has challenged both the public, state, and even the elite views about fundamentalism and especially “Islamic fundamentalism.