Muslims are presumed guilty until proven innocent in US enforcement

Evidence

In 2003, another thousand people were arrested as part of a program to catch “absconders” from Middle Eastern nations who had overstayed their visas and who might have knowledge of “terrorist activity.” Many of these people were put “on planes to destinations where they knew no one. They left behind jobs, homes, and families, including American-born children.” Such actions are nothing if not the wholesale demonization of Muslims, who are now “guilty until proven innocent.” Their consequences reach far beyond the Arab and South Asian Muslim communities. Non-Muslim peace activists and antiwar organizers soon became targets of surveillance and interrogation as well. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 448

Categorization

• XREF: Previews the conflation of Muslim communities with political dissent, echoing the New Left surveillance discussed next paragraph and relating to Iftikhar’s dissent-criminalization claims. — connects to: Preemptive FBI strategy assumed Muslims were guilty and induced latent terrorist tendencies. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 568; A presumption of guilt until proven innocent defines Islamophobia — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 281; Constitutional violations are deemed acceptable when targeting Islam or Muslims. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 310 (+21 more)

Broader Connections

• Suspicion of Muslims is based on association rather than evidence #qualifies (0.70)
• Blanket accusations of Muslims justify state surveillance by identity #corroborates (0.70)
• Routine Muslim religious practice is legally treated as evidence of terrorist predisposition #exemplifies (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 463
• Surveillance targets Muslim Americans based on religious identity regardless of citizenship #exemplifies (0.60) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 104
• Surveillance justified by religious identity constitutes racialization of Muslims #expands (0.60)
• Muslims in the United States endure discrimination in their everyday lives #expands (0.50) — Evelyn Alsultany, Antisemitism and Islamophobia The…, 32
• Substantial minorities of Americans endorse curtailing Muslim civil liberties #corroborates (0.50) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 756