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Palgrave Studies in Oral History
Detained without Cause: Muslims' Stories of Detention and Deportation in America after 9/11
Immigrants from Pakistan, Egypt, India, and Palestine who were racially profiled and detained following the September 11 attacks tell their personal stories in a collection which explores themes of transnationalism, racialization, and the global war on terror, and explains the human cost of suspending civil liberties after a wartime emergency.
258 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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April 12, 2011I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.
John Locke
For too long we have preached to ourselves that we, the USA, is good. The entire world wants to emulate us and people are dying, literarily not just figuratively, to get to the USA. Of-course most of that is true; and the USA is still the best country in the world in so many ways.
In every nation, race, and country, there is a percentage of people who have an ugly streak and those who deny that fact are just either oblivious to the obvious or just are bigots. This particular ugly streak really came in to the open in the USA right after 9/11. Islamophobia came in to the open and it has permeated in to the fabric of the society that most people do not even think about the blatant discrimination occurring daily against the Muslims.
Here is a book which holds up the mirror and shows what; we as a society; are doing and are allowing our government to do with our explicit and implicit consent. The book does not try to please or mince words but presents what really happened to those so called terrorists who were rounded up. It shows us clearly what we as society have done and have allowed our government to do. It is a recording of history of how we have treated the Muslims since 9/11.
Meticulously researched and superbly written, the book presents what happened to six innocent people who were caught up in the giant web which was cast after the 9/11. There have been numerous headlining events of people who were caught and were supposedly terrorists. This book shows what happened to some of those who were rounded up. The independent picture of systematic abuse and torture of these innocents from multiple sources confirms that our government did what it should not have.
The good will which was created toward the USA due to the horrendous events of 9/11 was wasted in a short time due to the heavy handed abuses of the Bush government. The result is that the rest of the world again dislikes the USA and considers it the bully of the world. All the innocent people whose lives were shattered and who suffered physical and mental abuse will carry these scars and can not be expected to have any good words to say about the USA. Further; huge resources which should have gone toward destroying the real terrorists’ networks were wasted and abused on these innocents. The result is that Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar are still alive along with numerous others who still wish to do harm to the USA.
USA did the exact same thing to the people of Japanese heritage during WWII. Though the discriminatory acts during that time were of a different level as entire families were moved wholesale in to holding camps, but the discrimination lasted for a much shorter duration. The discrimination against Muslims is at much, much higher level for the few thousands who were jailed as terrorists and were tortured, physically and mentally. Perhaps at or above that level for those who were deported without cause and it is at a lower level for the remainder of the Muslim population as they have not been moved to any holding camps. However, the daily discrimination the Muslim community has to suffer in their lives have been going on for much longer and it has permeated the society to such an extent that the majority of the US population does not even see it or if it does, it accepts it as justified.
From President Obama who is busy denying that he is Muslim without mentioning that it would be OK if he was a Muslim to all those who openly state that the security check points at airports should be openly biased against Muslims; the society seems to accept that it is OK to discriminate against Muslims. This attitude has allowed our government to act in the illegal and inhumane way that it has and this continued consent on the part of the general populace will continue to allow this discrimination to continue.
It is obviously wrong and it is time that people of good conscious said something. This book is a shinning example of someone saying something. It is true that the author is a Muslim and hence has a personal stake in this, but it would be great if this brought about more people to let the government know that we the people; do not consent to this discrimination and inhumane treatment of other humans. We are better than that. Not because we say so, but because of our actions.
John Locke
For too long we have preached to ourselves that we, the USA, is good. The entire world wants to emulate us and people are dying, literarily not just figuratively, to get to the USA. Of-course most of that is true; and the USA is still the best country in the world in so many ways.
In every nation, race, and country, there is a percentage of people who have an ugly streak and those who deny that fact are just either oblivious to the obvious or just are bigots. This particular ugly streak really came in to the open in the USA right after 9/11. Islamophobia came in to the open and it has permeated in to the fabric of the society that most people do not even think about the blatant discrimination occurring daily against the Muslims.
Here is a book which holds up the mirror and shows what; we as a society; are doing and are allowing our government to do with our explicit and implicit consent. The book does not try to please or mince words but presents what really happened to those so called terrorists who were rounded up. It shows us clearly what we as society have done and have allowed our government to do. It is a recording of history of how we have treated the Muslims since 9/11.
Meticulously researched and superbly written, the book presents what happened to six innocent people who were caught up in the giant web which was cast after the 9/11. There have been numerous headlining events of people who were caught and were supposedly terrorists. This book shows what happened to some of those who were rounded up. The independent picture of systematic abuse and torture of these innocents from multiple sources confirms that our government did what it should not have.
The good will which was created toward the USA due to the horrendous events of 9/11 was wasted in a short time due to the heavy handed abuses of the Bush government. The result is that the rest of the world again dislikes the USA and considers it the bully of the world. All the innocent people whose lives were shattered and who suffered physical and mental abuse will carry these scars and can not be expected to have any good words to say about the USA. Further; huge resources which should have gone toward destroying the real terrorists’ networks were wasted and abused on these innocents. The result is that Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar are still alive along with numerous others who still wish to do harm to the USA.
USA did the exact same thing to the people of Japanese heritage during WWII. Though the discriminatory acts during that time were of a different level as entire families were moved wholesale in to holding camps, but the discrimination lasted for a much shorter duration. The discrimination against Muslims is at much, much higher level for the few thousands who were jailed as terrorists and were tortured, physically and mentally. Perhaps at or above that level for those who were deported without cause and it is at a lower level for the remainder of the Muslim population as they have not been moved to any holding camps. However, the daily discrimination the Muslim community has to suffer in their lives have been going on for much longer and it has permeated the society to such an extent that the majority of the US population does not even see it or if it does, it accepts it as justified.
From President Obama who is busy denying that he is Muslim without mentioning that it would be OK if he was a Muslim to all those who openly state that the security check points at airports should be openly biased against Muslims; the society seems to accept that it is OK to discriminate against Muslims. This attitude has allowed our government to act in the illegal and inhumane way that it has and this continued consent on the part of the general populace will continue to allow this discrimination to continue.
It is obviously wrong and it is time that people of good conscious said something. This book is a shinning example of someone saying something. It is true that the author is a Muslim and hence has a personal stake in this, but it would be great if this brought about more people to let the government know that we the people; do not consent to this discrimination and inhumane treatment of other humans. We are better than that. Not because we say so, but because of our actions.
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