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Engaging Politically from the Margin 267
migrant. Taking my cue from Kwame Anthony Appiah, Walter D.
Mignolo, and Gerard Delanty, I contend that Shamsie’s
cosmopolitanism is locally rooted, universally diverse, and essentially
self-reflective. It issues forth from the perspectives of silenced and
marginalized voices, but it does not see plurality simply as the goal
when it challenges universal norms that are essentially ethnocentric, as
exemplified by the global designs of British imperialism and American
nationalism. At the same time as it addresses uneven international and
cross-cultural relations, it also acutely concerns, from a micro-societal
perspective, changes within personal, national, and other local
identities, thereby negating a simple equivalence between
cosmopolitanism and transnationalization. It reflects internally and
reflexively on the problems of Islamic fundamentalism, divided
loyalties and nationalism, as well as gender politics in Pakistan, while
sending poignant messages on civil liberties for people of all races and
religions and on women’s rights beyond borders. Shamsie’s works
ultimately and paradoxically show that, rather than mobility across
borders, reflexive self-understanding is a core component of
cosmopolitanism, based on which connection to the world is critically
established.
I.
Offence
and
Burnt Shadows
: 9/11, Islamic
Fundamentalism, and Patriotism
While it is commonly agreed that many of Shamsie’s works are of
a political nature, 9/11 and its consequences played an important role
in provoking Shamsie to take up journalism and active protest against
criminalization of Islam, American nationalism, and xenophobia.
Shamsie “started writing for newspapers just after 9/11” (2011: 216).
Writing journalism or non-fiction in general in the aftermath of 9/11,
Shamsie was committed to making an immediate impact, reaching
global readership, and providing information while adhering to the
principles of accuracy and verification. As she pointed out in an
interview, “[I]n 2001, people began talking about Afghanistan and