The Illustration of Racial Discrimination Against British Muslims in Kamila Shamsie’s 'Home Fire'

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the depiction of racial discrimination and to reveal the British Muslim character's resistance toward racial discrimination in the novel entitled Home Fire (2017) by Kamila Shamsie. This study applies the descriptive qualitative research method to describe, interpret, and analyze the data source in which the analysis is presented in the form of text. The data is taken from the quotations in the novel that are related to the theory and the quotations will become the evidence of the analysis. To guide this study, the writer analyzes the data using the theory of Measuring Racial Discrimination by Blank at al. (2004) as the basic concept and framework. This theory book identifies where racial discrimination occurs and measures the extent to which discrimination may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities (Blank at al., 2004). The result of this study shows that British Muslim characters experienced some discriminatory behavior in a form of verbal antagonism, avoidance, physical attack, and segregation because of being Muslim and owing to Pakistani descent. In addition, it also finds that the British Muslim character tries to resist the racial discrimination treatment in the way trying to get justice by doing protest to get the rights that supposed to have. In carrying out the protest action, the British Muslim character is not alone, because it gets social support from many people and institutions.

Keywords: minority, Muslim, Pakistani descent, racial discrimination, racism