Abstract:
In the United States, no other ethnic group has been under suspicion and surveillance as Arab Americans in the aftermath of 9/11. Despite constitutional statements and legislations on civil rights and individual liberties, Arab Americans were compelled to redefine their identity to be consistent with Americanism and prove their Americanness. This research analyzes the status of Arab Americans in the United States’ racial framework in post-9/11America. In addition to highlighting the role the attacks played in altering the nature of the racial paradox, its consequences, and impacts, this research investigates the conversion of Arab Americans’ posture from invisibility to hypervisibility. More, it sheds light on the collaboration of the general public, media, and government for racializing Arab Americans. As a result, the locus of racialization shifted from imagined misconceptions and ill-mannered stereotypes to more overt and aggressive attitudes that became manifest in hate crimes, unjustified detentions, and deportations. For a better understanding of the racialization of Arab Americans prior and following 9/11, this research scrutinizes different theories on race, identity, and prevailing stereotypes. It concludes that the legitimation of racialization operated as a catalyst for the construction of a hegemonic discourse on the Arab/Muslim terrorist.
