Why a Booktrail?
1990s, 2000s: A family discover that their son is plotting to bomb Toronto
Belief
What you need to know before your trail
An up-and-coming, very modest Muslim family in Mississauga discovers by accident their son Rafiq’s involvement in a plot to bomb some public places in Toronto. Belief tells the story of the family’s escape from Bombay to Canada following the hate-violence of 1993 in that city; their small success, epitomized by their proud ownership of a house in Mississauga; and Rafiq’s attraction to fundamentalist ideas.
Rafiq, it appears, has rejected these ideas, propounded by an evil genius, but how does he explain the plot details found on his computer? Told simply, impartially, and with great understanding and empathy, this very Canadian novel describes the trauma of a family unable to understand their child’s mind as they anxiously await his fate.
Travel Guide
They turned poor over night when they left for Canada, losing the simple comforts they were used to in Bombay. They had only lived with immigrants in northwest Toronto for eleven years, finally purchasing their own place, a townhouse in Mississauga
They were misfits in Canada as much as they had been as Muslims in India.
So when their son is suspected of planning to bomb places in Toronto, the divide between the parents and their son, two generations of immigrants in Canada is clear.
This is the story of immigrants faced with a major shock and challenge when their child doesn’t seem to see their fate in the same way as they do. Looking at the family of those suspected of terrorist attacks gives a unique insight into a topical taboo and misunderstood subject both then and now.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: Belief
Author/Guide: Mayank Bhatt Destination: Missassauga, Toronto Departure Time: 1980s, 2000s
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