Home Fire

“She stopped herself. The official was doing that thing that she’d encountered before in security personnel—staying quiet when you answered their questions in a straightforward manner, which made you think you had to say more. And the more you said, the more guilty you sounded.” 

Because of her appearance and Muslim background, Isma is detained at the airport and interrogated for hours. Using Isma’s example, Shamsie foregrounds the issue of othering, which is especially manifest in Western countries, where people who look like they adhere to Islam are often treated with suspicion. 

“‘You know, you don’t have to be so compliant about everything,’ Aneeka had said during the role-playing. Isma’s sister, not quite nineteen, with her law student brain, who knew everything about her rights and nothing about the fragility of her place in the world.”

Aneeka has a strong sense of justice and refuses to accept a scenario under which she has fewer rights than non-Muslim British citizens. Always protected by Isma from the inequalities of the social system, Aneeka doesn’t understand why she, a person born and raised in the UK, with no other country to call home except Britain, should deserve a different treatment. Isma, being the most sensible among the siblings, realizes that as British Muslims of Pakistani descent, their family will always be more vulnerable, and that’s why they need to be more vigilant in obeying the laws and following the rules of the state. 

“‘Can I ask you something?’ he said. ‘The turban. Is that a style thing or a Muslim thing?’

‘You know, the only people in Massachusetts who have ever asked me about it both wanted to know if it’s a style thing or a chemo thing.’

Laughing, he said, ‘Cancer or Islam—which is the greater affliction?’” 

Eamonn was raised in a secular family with almost no connection to his Islamic ancestry, so he finds Isma’s decision to wear the turban surprising. He doesn’t understand why a person would want to set herself apart so much. Although he intends his comment as a joke, it becomes clear that Eamonn views Islam, and especially public manifestations of Muslim faith, as a hindrance.