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Alsultany, Evelyn. Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11. NYU Press, 2012.

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Alsultany, Evelyn. Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11. NYU Press, 2012.

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Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11

After 9/11, Muslim American identity shifted largely because of how Muslims were portrayed in U.S. media. Alsultany explains that Muslims began appearing more frequently in television and news, but these representations were still restrictive and often conditional. She describes this as “simplified complex representations,” where Muslims were shown as acceptable only if they constantly condemned terrorism or proved their loyalty to the nation. One key quote that captures this is, “Representations of Arabs and Muslims shifted after 9/11, but they continued to operate within a framework that linked them to terrorism” (Alsultany). This shows how Muslim identity became something that had to be publicly managed rather than privately lived. I find this argument convincing because media visibility did not lead to understanding, but instead pressured Muslims to perform a very specific version of being American.

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Mamdani, Mahmood. “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: A Political Perspective on Culture and Terrorism.” American Anthropologist 104, no. 3 (2002): 766–775.

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Mamdani, Mahmood. “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: A Political Perspective on Culture and Terrorism.” American Anthropologist 104, no. 3 (2002): 766–775.

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“Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: A Political Perspective on Culture and Terrorism”

Mamdani argues that after 9/11, U.S. political discourse divided Muslims into moral categories that deeply affected identity formation. He explains that Muslims were no longer just a religious group, but were framed politically as either “good” or “bad” based on their perceived relationship to Western values. A central quote from the article is, “The contemporary discourse on terrorism is structured around the idea of good Muslims versus bad Muslims” (Mamdani). This shift forced Muslim Americans to constantly prove that they were the “right kind” of Muslim, often distancing themselves from global Muslim struggles to avoid suspicion. I agree with Mamdani’s position because this binary still shapes how Muslims are treated socially and politically today. It made Muslim identity reactive rather than self defined.

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Cainkar, Louise. Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11. Russell Sage Foundation, 2009.

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Cainkar, Louise. Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11. Russell Sage Foundation, 2009.

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Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11

Cainkar focuses on how surveillance and government policy reshaped Muslim American identity at the everyday level. She documents how programs like FBI questioning, detentions, and mosque surveillance created a sense of constant vulnerability. One powerful quote from her work is, “Arab and Muslim Americans became communities of suspicion, experiencing a level of government scrutiny previously unfamiliar to them” (Cainkar). This shift meant that Muslim identity became tied to fear, caution, and self monitoring. I find Cainkar’s argument especially convincing because it shows how identity changes are not just cultural, but produced directly by state power. Being Muslim after 9/11 was no longer just about belief, but about navigating risk.

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Peek, Lori. “Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity.” Sociology of Religion 66, no. 3 (2005): 215–242.

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Peek, Lori. “Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity.” Sociology of Religion 66, no. 3 (2005): 215–242.

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“Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity”

Peek examines how many young Muslim Americans responded to post 9/11 hostility by strengthening their religious identity. Instead of hiding their faith, some became more visibly Muslim as a form of resistance and self affirmation. She writes, “Experiences of discrimination often led participants to explore Islam more deeply and to claim a stronger Muslim identity” (Peek). This shows a clear shift where Islam became a source of empowerment rather than something to minimize. I agree with Peek because identity formation is not only shaped by oppression, but also by how people respond to it. In this case, pressure led to a more intentional and conscious Muslim American identity.

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Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist 

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Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist 

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“Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?”

Abu Lughod explains how post 9/11 narratives, especially around Muslim women, reinforced stereotypes that shaped Muslim identity as backward or oppressed. She critiques the idea that Muslim women needed Western intervention, stating, “The rhetoric of saving Muslim women is part of a larger project of justifying U.S. moral authority” (Abu Lughod). This framing affected Muslim American identity by reducing it to a problem that needed fixing. I strongly agree with her argument because these narratives stripped Muslim women of agency and reinforced Islamophobia under the guise of feminism. This contributed to a broader racialization of Muslim identity in the U.S.