Muslim women’s bodies are the first site of state policing in Islamophobic societies

Evidence

Forever Suspect expands on theoretical concepts such as racialization by including cultural traits and gender as central to understanding how racism operates both structurally and through social interactions, and I uncover the ways in which Muslim Americans experience racialization in their everyday lives. It is a complicated process that works in different ways for different people or groups. One of the ways the process of racialization occurs is through the gendered surveillance of their bodies: Muslim American women are watched by their fellow citizens and monitored for transgressing “Western” cultural norms, while Muslim American men are carefully observed for their potential to commit terror. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 92 (#expands, via linked claim)

Chapter 3 uncovers the important role private citizens play in maintaining a surveillance society in the War on Terror through my interviews with Muslim Americans about their daily lives and their interactions with private citizens. Muslim women who wear the hijab experience racialization through these interactions and are treated as an affront to Western culture due to their religious dress. Private citizens constantly watch and monitor them for signs of transgressing Western cultural norms. As a result, Muslim American women who wear the hijab have been yelled at to “go back home” by strangers they encounter in public spaces. By contrast, Muslim men are surveilled as a potential threat to national security by acquaintances at work and school. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 107 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: The vast majority of European Islamophobic hate-crime victims are Muslim women — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 412; State Islamophobia operates first through policing Muslim women’s bodies.; Muslim women perform their behavior and dress as self-discipline enacted by surveillance — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 486 (+13 more)

Related

• Muslim women alter their dress in response to fellow citizens’ surveillance, not male oppression (similarity 0.89)
• Private citizens surveil Muslim women for cultural transgression and men for security threats (similarity 0.89)
• Muslim women are surveilled for cultural transgression while men are watched for terror potential (similarity 0.88)
• Surveillance operates differently on Muslim men and women through distinct mechanisms (similarity 0.88)
• French Muslim women are the demographic most policed by France’s culture wars (similarity 0.86)
• Surveillance leads Muslims to police their own actions and dress (similarity 0.86)
• The hijab marks Muslim women instantly and provokes hostile public encounters (similarity 0.85)
• Citizens surveil hijabi women for supposedly violating American values (similarity 0.85)
• State policies and individual citizen actions jointly maintain Muslims’ racialized surveillance (similarity 0.85)
• Muslim women perform their behavior and dress as self-discipline enacted by surveillance (similarity 0.85)
• American-born Muslim women are assaulted for being recognizably Muslim (similarity 0.85)
• Muslim women treat public behavior as a duty to represent Islam favorably. (similarity 0.85)
• The War on Terror racialized Muslim bodies to justify their surveillance (similarity 0.85)
• Surveillance racializes Muslims by casting them as threats rather than protected citizens. (similarity 0.85)
• Citizen surveillance targets hijab-wearing women publicly but men privately as suspected terrorists (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Private citizens surveil Muslim women for cultural transgression and men for security threats #expands (0.70) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 107
• Muslim women are surveilled for cultural transgression while men are watched for terror potential #expands (0.70) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 92
• Racializing Muslims as threats sustains a surveillance state with gendered effects #expands (0.70)
• Muslim women perform their behavior and dress as self-discipline enacted by surveillance #expands (0.60) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 486
• State-perpetuated fear racializes Muslim bodies as terrorist enemies #expands (0.60)
• State surveillance escalates with how visibly Muslim a person is #expands (0.60) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 380
• The hijab rather than skin tone triggers racializing surveillance of Muslim women #expands (0.60) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 292
• Islamophobic discourse uses Muslim women as pawns to serve imperial and domestic agendas #expands (0.60)
• Orientalist stereotypes institutionalized in government agencies drive Muslim policing #expands (0.60) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 126
• Muslim bodies are treated as potential terrorists until proven otherwise #expands (0.50) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 282
• Surveillance leads Muslims to police their own actions and dress #expands (0.50)
• Muslim women alter their dress in response to fellow citizens’ surveillance, not male oppression #expands (0.50)
• Muslim women alter dress and demeanor to counter surveillance-based stereotypes. #expands (0.50)
• Less state surveillance gives Muslim women more agency but costly emotional labor #qualifies (0.40)