Innocent Until Proven Muslim

On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists hijacked four airplanes and carried out attacks on the United States, killing more than three thousand Americans and sending the country reeling. Three days after the attacks, President George W. Bush declared, "This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace." Yet in the days following, Bush declared a "War on Terror," which would result in years of Muslims being targeted on the basis of collective punishment and scapegoating. In 2009, President Barack Obama said, "America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace." Instead, Obama perpetuated the War on Terror's infrastructure that Bush had put in place, rendering his words entirely empty. President Donald Trump's overtly Islamophobic rhetoric added fuel to the fire, stoking public fears to justify the continuation of the War his predecessors had committed to. In Innocent Until Proven Muslim, scholar and organizer Dr.Maha Hilal tells the powerful story of two decades of the War on Terror, exploring how the official narrative has justified the creation of a sprawling apparatus of state violence rooted in Islamophobia and excused its worst abuses. Hilal offers not only an overview of the many iterations of the War on Terror in law and policy, but also examines how Muslim Americans have internalized oppression, how some influential Muslim Americans have perpetuated collective responsibility, and how the lived experiences of Muslim Americans reflect what it means to live as part of a "suspect" community. Along the way, this marginalized community gives voice to lessons that we can all learn from their experiences, and to what it would take to create a better future. Twenty years after the tragic events of 9/11, we must look at its full legacy in order to move toward a United States that is truly inclusive and unified.

On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists hijacked four airplanes and carried out attacks on the United States, killing more than three thousand Americans and sending the country reeling. Three days after the attacks, President George W. Bush declared, This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. Yet in the days and years following, Muslim Americans--equal victims of the 9/11 terrorism--became targets of violence and hate crimes conducted in the name of patriotism. These acts of discrimination, denounced publicly by our nation's leaders, were given unspoken license with the launch of the US military and intelligence campaign known as the War on Terror, which demonized all Muslims as terrorists. In 2009, President Barack Obama said, America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace--a message that did not prevent, but indeed fueled, the marginalization of Muslim American communities. And the Islamophobic rhetoric from Donald Trump's campaigns and administration continued to stoke the fire. In Innocent Until Proven Muslim, scholar and activist Dr. Maha Hilal tells the powerful story of two decades of the War on Terror and the hate toward Muslims that has ensued. Hilal offers not only a chronological overview of the many policies created under the umbrella of the War on Terror, but also accounts of the lived experiences of Muslim Americans, from stories of what it means to live as part of a suspect community, to the reality of surviving hate crimes. Along the way, this marginalized community gives voice to lessons we can all learn from their experiences and to what it would take to create a better future. Twenty years after the tragic events of 9/11, we must look at its full legacy and move toward a United States that is truly inclusive and unified.

On Forbes list of "10 Books To Help You Foster A More Diverse And Inclusive Workplace" How law, policy, and official state rhetoric have fueled the resurgence of Islamophobia—with a call to action on how to combat it. “I remember the four words that repeatedly scrolled across my mind after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. ‘Please don’t be Muslims, please don’t be Muslims.’ The four words I whispered to myself on 9/11 reverberated through the mind of every Muslim American that day and every day after.… Our fear, and the collective breath or brace for the hateful backlash that ensued, symbolize the existential tightrope that defines Muslim American identity today.” The term “Islamophobia” may be fairly new, but irrational fear and hatred of Islam and Muslims is anything but. Though many speak of Islamophobia’s roots in racism, have we considered how anti-Muslim rhetoric is rooted in our legal system? Using his unique lens as a critical race theorist and law professor, Khaled A. Beydoun captures the many ways in which law, policy, and official state rhetoric have fueled the frightening resurgence of Islamophobia in the United States. Beydoun charts its long and terrible history, from the plight of enslaved African Muslims in the antebellum South and the laws prohibiting Muslim immigrants from becoming citizens to the ways the war on terror assigns blame for any terrorist act to Islam and the myriad trials Muslim Americans face in the Trump era. He passionately argues that by failing to frame Islamophobia as a system of bigotry endorsed and emboldened by law and carried out by government actors, U.S. society ignores the injury it inflicts on both Muslims and non-Muslims. Through the stories of Muslim Americans who have experienced Islamophobia across various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines, Beydoun shares how U.S. laws shatter lives, whether directly or inadvertently. And with an eye toward benefiting society as a whole, he recommends ways for Muslim Americans and their allies to build coalitions with other groups. Like no book before it, American Islamophobia offers a robust and genuine portrait of Muslim America then and now.

Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics is a powerful introduction to the topic of the anti-Muslim landscape in the U.S. In it, Kazi shows that Islamophobia is not a set of anti-Muslim attitudes and prejudices. Instead, this book shows how Islamophobia is part of a greater reality: systemic U.S. racism. In other words, Islamophobia is neither a blip nor a break with a racially harmonious American social order, but rather the outcome of destructive foreign policy practices and an enduring history of white supremacy. This book illustrates how popular understandings of Islamophobia are often flawed. For instance, the assumption that the right wing is especially anti-Muslim overlooks the bipartisan history of Islamophobia in the U.S. The author draws from years of ethnographic fieldwork with Muslim American organizations to show how diversity and inequality among Muslims in the U.S. drastically shapes the experience of Islamophobia and racism. While swaths of undocumented, working class, or incarcerated Muslims bear the brunt of U.S. racism, a small subset of relatively privileged Muslim spokespeople hold the platform from which to speak about Islamophobia. The book is engaging for readers, as it shifts between a historical analysis (for instance, of the arrival of enslaved Muslim from Africa during the settling of the United States), the voices of those from the author’s research with Muslim American advocacy groups, and commentary on the current political landscape. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the roots of U.S. racism as an inherent part of the nation’s economic and foreign policy practices. Since 9/11/2001 and, more recently, the ascendancy of Trump, there remains a growing curiosity about Muslims and Islamophobia. The book offers a nuanced view on racism and Islamophobia that is often missing from popular understandings on the topic.

WINNER of the Polari First Book Prize 2021 WINNER of the LAMBDA 2021 Literary Award for Best Gay Memoir/Biography A Dutiful Boy is Mohsin's personal journey from denial to acceptance: a revelatory memoir about the power of love, belonging, and living every part of your identity. Growing up in a devout Muslim household, it felt impossible for Mohsin to be gay. Unable to be open with his family, and with difficult conditions at school, he felt his opportunities closing around him. Despite the odds, Mohsin's perseverance led him to become the first person from his school to attend Oxford University, where new experiences and encounters helped him to discover who he truly wanted to be. Mohsin was confronted with the biggest decision he would ever make: to live the life that was expected of him or to live as his authentic self. A Guardian, GQ, and New Statesman Book of the Year 'Genuinely inspiring... Beautifully written, dignified and ultimately redemptive, this challenging story abounds with light and love' Attitude

Waqf, a non-definition -- State, law, and the "Muslim community" -- The intent of charity -- Charity and the family -- The "Waqf's benefit" and public benefit -- Conclusion -- Appendix A. Main Ottoman Mutūn and their main commentaries and glosses -- Appendix B. Umari mosque expenditures and appointments.

The Fear of Islam investigates the context of Western views of Islam and offers an introduction to the historical roots and contemporary anxiety regarding Islam within the Western world. Tracing the medieval legacy of religious polemics and violence, Green orients readers to the complex history and issues of Western relations to Islam, from early and late modern colonial enterprises and theories of "Orientalism," to the production of religious discourses of otherness and the clash of civilizations that proliferated in the era of 9/11 and the war on terror. In this second edition, Green brings the reader up to date, examining the Islamophobic rhetoric of the 2016 US presidential election and the ongoing success of populist and far right parties in Europe. Green provides updated data on the rise of anti-Muslim legislation--for example, the Muslim ban in the United States and a wave of full-face veil bans in Europe--as well as the rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes on both sides of the Atlantic since 2015. This important book is essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand current views of Islam and to work toward meaningful peace and understanding between religious communities.

This volume, the first of six to be published, studies fundamental values of Islam, along with the nature of rights and the responsibilities in a general context. The authors analyse the development of social thought and morality in Islam, and ways in which they are enforced through the family and education. Particular attention is paid to the status of women, children, youth and the socially excluded. Several chapters broach specially Islamic approaches to economics, government and justice. A world religion since its inception in the seventh century A.D., Islam is today seeking vigorous answers to contemporary problems through its multi-faceted history. Issues of poverty and wealth, inequality and demands for political expression, and respect for diversity in a difficult world of conformity are dealt with in this series. The study is organized along thematic rather than chronological lines and thus it is not necessary to read the volumes in order. Volume II is in fact the first to have been published. Volume IV is forthcoming end 2002, volume V mid 2003 and volumes III and VI in 2004. This volume, the first of six to be published, studies fundamental values of Islam, along with the nature of rights and the responsibilities in a general context. The authors analyse the development of social thought and morality in Islam, and ways in which they are enforced through the family and education. Particular attention is paid to the status of women, children, youth and the socially excluded. Several chapters broach specially Islamic approaches to economics, government and justice.