In the conclusion of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, Mamdani argues that terrorism cannot be simply addressed as a criminal issue divorced from politics. Unlike crime, terrorism often seeks public legitimacy and represents a political grievance. Thus, a military response alone, as seen in the US invasion of Afghanistan post-9/11, cannot solve the problem of terrorism; it risks becoming a symbolic act of vengeance rather than a real solution. Mamdani points to the “growing common ground” (230) between the tactics and ideologies of the 9/11 perpetrators and the US response. Both frame the conflict in terms of good and evil, justice and revenge, refusing compromise. US policy, in turn, meted out collective punishment and disregarded civilian lives, fueling cycles of revenge rather than quelling terrorism. For Mamdani, a more productive path would involve transforming grief into political reflection, turning tragedy into a moment for democratic deliberation on America’s role in the world.

Mamdani critiques how the Bush administration manipulated 9/11 to push a neoconservative agenda and revive Cold War battles. Rather than fostering a post-Cold War regime of international accountability, the administration expanded the “war on terror” to include Iraq, evoking Cold War-era language such as the “axis of evil” (231).