Migration and Terrorism in Mohsin Hamid's Exit West

Abstract

This article critically analyzes Mohsin Hamid's Exit West (2017) from the perspective of terrorism as the primary catalyst for contemporary crises including forced migration, identity fragmentation, and refugee displacement. In the post-9/11 literary landscape, terrorism and migration have emerged as interconnected phenomena demanding scholarly attention, particularly within postcolonial studies. Through close textual analysis of Hamid's novel, this study examines how terrorism engenders various forms of displacement, physical, psychological, economic, and environmental. The research draws upon theoretical frameworks from Hannah Arendt, Edward Said, Soren Frank, and Salman Rushdie to interpret the primary text. This article argues that Hamid's portrayal of protagonists Saeed and Nadia provides a site for analysis that deals with the multifaceted nature of forced migration in the age of global terrorism, revealing how terror fundamentally transforms human identity, belonging, and survival strategies in the contemporary world.