Perceived anti-Muslim policies drove Muslim Americans from Republican to Democratic

Evidence

Muslim political attitudes have shifted since 9/11, with many South Asian and Arab Muslim Americans changing their political identifications from Republican to Democrat. Interestingly, prior to 9/11, the majority of South Asian and Arab Muslim Americans leaned toward the Republican Party and voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. Four years later, they overwhelmingly voted for John Kerry and then, in 2008, for Barack Obama. This shift can be attributed to the perceived anti-Muslim policies of the Republican Party (Pew Research Center 2011), such as the passing of the PATRIOT Act as well as the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan by the Bush administration. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 110

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the political realignment literature elsewhere in the reader’s map on surveillance and state distrust.