Collateral Damage: The De-Americanization of Muslim Americans After 9/11

This project examines the impact that 9/11 has had on the everyday lives of Muslim Americans. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with South Asian and Arab American Muslim men and women living in the Chicago area, the data reveals Muslim Americans have been subjected to the process of de-Americanization, which is the stripping of social membership a privilege of citizenship. Religious signifiers, gender, and space all play an important role in the process of de-Americanization. Muslim men in the sample were more likely to experience this in private spaces while Muslim women who wear the hijab became targets in public spaces. Muslim women were more likely to resist this process by performing American values while wearing the hijab in order to reclaim their right to social membership and their right to space in the public sphere. Muslim women who wear the hijab had more encounters by non-state actors while Muslim men were targeted by state actors, such as Transportation and Security Administration agents. This study fills an important gap on research on 9/11 and Muslims in the United States as it focuses on the impact that 9/11 has had on Muslim Americans rather than Muslim immigrants. It also highlights the importance of aspects of citizenship that are often understudied, such as social membership and belonging, and the impact they have on individual lives. It not only reveals how Muslim Americans\u27 lives have changed since 9/11 it sociologically uncovers the boundaries of American citizenship