The comparative study of integration process of western Muslims in Black Album by Hanif Kureishi, the reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid and Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Immigration and globalization processes throughout the world have brought about the existence of a considerable number of Asian people in Britain and the USA with a variety of ethnicity, language, lifestyle, and religion and these countries have become far more diverse and multicultural. The reality of such diverse cultures and religions within Britain and the USA brings out the notion of integration. Therefore, this study particularly aims at answering the question "Is Muslim integration to English and American cultures really achievable?" For this purpose, this study is dedicated to the analysis of three post-colonial novels: The Black Album, Brick Lane, and The Reluctant Fundamentalist by three different writers of South Asian origin: Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, and Mohsin Hamid respectively. The study analyzes the novels in terms of the problems Muslims experience in their integration process to the host cultures of England and the USA. Each of the novels are predominantly populated by South Asian characters and they will be handled as discrete items of focus because each of them portrays a different immigrant subjectivity and possesses an inherent quality in the way the issues are covered. The study consists of five sections. In the introduction section, theoretical ground of the study in terms of postcolonialism, immigration, and integration will be presented drawing on the theories of Ania Loomba, John McLeod, Stuart Hall, and Bill Ashcroft et all… The introduction part is followed by the main body, which consists of three subparts. In this part, analysis of three novels will be carried out discretely in terms of the integration problems Muslim characters go through in a Western context. Lastly comes the conclusion part, in which a summation will be presented in terms of the differences and similarities of the integration problems handled in each book and an assessment with regard to the future of Muslim integration will be provided.