Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans After 9/11

by Lori Peek

Overview

As the nation tried to absorb the shock of the 9/11 attacks, Muslim Americans were caught up in an unprecedented wave of backlash violence. Public discussion revealed that widespread misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Islam persisted, despite the striking diversity of the Muslim community.

Letting the voices of 140 ordinary Muslim American men and women describe their experiences, Lori Peek's path-breaking book, Behind the Backlash presents moving accounts of prejudice and exclusion. Muslims speak of being subjected to harassment before the attacks, and recount the discrimination they encountered afterwards. Peek also explains the struggles of young Muslim adults to solidify their community and define their identity during a time of national crisis.

Behind the Backlash seeks to explain why blame and scapegoating occur after a catastrophe. Peek sets the twenty-first century experience of Muslim Americans, who were vilified and victimized, in the context of larger sociological and psychological processes. Peek’s book will be of interest to those in disaster research studies, sociology of religion, and race and ethnic relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592139842
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	11/26/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	214
File size:	602 KB

About the Author

Lori Peek is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis at Colorado State University. She has been involved in disaster research for more than a decade and has published widely in the areas of risk and social vulnerability.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Under Attack
3. Encountering Intolerance
4. Backlash
5. Repercussions
6. Adaptations
7. Conclusion
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"In this savvy, research-based book, sociologist Peek (Colorado State Univ.) reports on interviews with Arab and South Asian Muslim Americans conducted after the 9/11 attacks. Peek provides an excellent introduction to the oppressive realities these Americans face, including sharp increases in hate crimes and illegal government spying after 9/11.... This important book counters many US myths about Muslim Americans, their origins, and their life experiences. It makes them 'come alive' as important US residents seeking to counter 'othering' by fellow Americans....Summing Up: Highly recommended."
—Choice

"[A] well-researched, thoughtful examination of how processes of postdisaster backlash heighten social boundaries, despite both popular and scholarly assumptions of solidarity after disaster.... One highlight of Peek’s analysis is her sensitive consideration of the impact of 9/11 backlash on respondents who are less 'visibly Muslim.'...[The book] is engagingly written and often powerful."
—Sociology of Religion

From the Publisher

Prior to the 9/11 attacks, U.S. anti-Muslim sentiments were largely hidden, and their overt manifestations were generally limited to fringe hate groups. Since 9/11, there has been a backlash of violence and discrimination against Muslims in America; anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobia have reached an unprecedented level. In this highly readable and informative book, Peek (sociology, Colorado State Univ.) allows readers to hear from 140 Muslim Americans on their personal encounters with prejudice, discrimination, and general harassment in their day-to-day existence. Although Muslims constitute about two percent of the American population, a sizable section of the U.S. political Right has now made Muslim bashing an integral part of its sociopolitical and cultural discourse. Peek's research ended before the most recent public campaigns against Muslims, but this does not diminish the value of her work as she seeks to explain how and why vilification and scapegoating of a minority intensifies after a major catastrophe. VERDICT This is a book that should be read by all concerned Americans as well as students of ethnic relations.—Nader Entessar, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile

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