From Postcolonialism to Post-9/11: Examining the Socio-psychological Corollaries on Youth in The Domestic Crusaders by Wajahat Ali

Abstract

This paper considers the pivotal nexus of postcolonialism
with post 9/11, and the latter's impact on the young characters in
Wajahat Ali’s The Domestic Crusaders. This article asserts that new
realities ushered by the post 9/11, the war on terror, and the neoimperialistic
policies of the US mark the beginning of a new era that
can be equated to the postcolonial era, stemming from the events
which emerged after the fall of the Twin Towers. Sociopsychological
difficulties are experienced by the young Muslim
expatriates in the US since they faced identity crises, otherness and
resistance. US policy towards the Muslims focused on religion and
ethnicity, together with the post-911 resurgent nationalism in the
sense of identity crises in the American context, replicates the
binary conflicts that existed in the colonial world; Self/Other,
West/East, Master/Slave, and White/Brown. A qualitative method
of data collection has been used in this research. For the
conceptual framework, the research examines the social and
psychological dimensions of postcolonial literary theory in light of
the concepts of Homi. K. Bhabha, and other eminent theorists. In
the field of social psychology, the study utilizes Erik Erikson's
concepts outlined in the book Identity: Youth and Crisis and the
parameters developed by Robert T. Carter concerning PTSIM: a
hypothetical psychological theory. This paper’s specific focus on the
representation of the socio-psychological impact of post-9/11 on
young characters and their consequent reactions adds more to the
dynamics of contemporary literature.