Restricting the Lives of Muslims: Centuries in the Making in the Americas

in Islam in North America and Bloomsbury Religion in North America (June 15, 2021)

“Many people reference the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as a specific starting point for understanding Islam and Muslims, but anti-Muslim bigotry is not strictly a post-9/11 phenomenon. A system of discriminatory patterns, policies, and practices targeting Muslims—and those perceived to be Muslim—has existed for centuries. While anti-Muslim policies are uniquely tailored to achieve their stated goals, these policies cannot and should not be separated from those that target other communities who have historically been targeted under systems of white supremacy, which means the legacies of surveillance, detention, and extrajudicial killings are centuries in the making.

To better understand policies of surveillance, detainment, and restrictions of movement, this article examines the impacts of these policies on Muslims from the Americas and from across the globe. It underscores how a discussion about the legal construction of who is a Muslim is not complete without considering American understandings of Muslims on US lands and outside of them, and why certain lands can be framed as “American” to begin with. This piece groups and tracks anti-Muslim policies by exploring how they impact three areas of life: immigration and movement; wealth and health; and gatherings and community. Policies and practices that have othered, targeted, and excluded Muslims have spanned centuries and taken on different hues when systems of xenophobia, anti-Blackness, and militarism have intersected with specific Muslim communities. Everything we need to know about anti-Muslim surveillance, detention, and other policies infringing on Muslim life and liberty cannot be learned based solely on 9/11 and war on terror policies.”