ABSTRACT
The troubled image of Pakistan conjured up by President Obama suggests that Pakistanis are 'violent Muslims'. It also insinuates that Pakistan is a chaotic, frenetic, and disorganised country hell-bent on destroying 'the West'. After 9/11, Congress enacted 'anti-terrorism' laws that ultimately painted Pakistanis as potential threats to 'American values' and national security. Some Irish people have perceived the Celtic Tiger – a popular term used to describe the period between 1994 and 2000 when Ireland achieved the highest economic growth rates in history (Kirby, 2004) – as disrupting the 'purity' of the Irish nation. The chapter explores how cultural, religious, ethno-racial, and political contexts shape the experiences of young first- and second-generation Pakistani Muslim and non-Muslim men in Boston and Dublin. It focuses on 'crisis racism', or what the author describes as 'recession racism', and the idea that Pakistanis and other immigrants are to blame for the problems of Irish society.
