The validated Muslim is the one who embodies entrepreneurialist meritocracy

Evidence

Brown argues that the “good Muslim” is the one who can be demonstrated to share the values of entrepreneurialism. Their philanthropy and quality as community role models are commensurate with their embodiment of the lesson that self-help and hard work are more laudable than collective lobbying. Brown describes this combination as “meritocratic materialism,” pointing out that the good Muslim, “the “normal Muslim,” is the one we can do business with (“Contesting the Securitization of British Muslims: Citizenship and Resistance,” Interventions 12, no. — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 686

Categorization

• DEFINE: ‘Meritocratic materialism’ is a precise term for the counterpart to the securitized Muslim — useful framing for reading Hamid’s Changez as someone who initially buys into exactly this bargain.