Surveillance-induced self-censorship strips Muslim men of citizenship’s rights

Evidence

Self-surveillance via silencing their voices is a form of censorship that strips Muslim American men of a fundamental right that citizenship entails, the ability to participate in a public forum and debate. By refraining from speaking out about injustices that Muslims in the United States and abroad face, Muslim men are unable to influence the discourse that directly impacts their daily experiences. Their voices are muted, while those who espouse anti-Muslim or Islamophobic sentiments are becoming more acceptable. When Muslim men are unable to exercise the rights associated with citizenship, like freedom of speech, we need to question the state of our democracy. In a true democracy, all citizens are able to enjoy the privileges that citizenship affords. Yet in a state defined by hypersurveillance, some citizens are criminalized, while others are protected. The United States is a racialized social system that shifts and fluctuates over time. The institutionalization of hypersurveillance has created a new racial terrain that Muslim Americans must navigate. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 439

Categorization

• DEFINE: Posits ‘racialized social system’ and a ‘new racial terrain’ as frameworks for understanding how surveillance reclassifies citizens.
• XREF: Directly anchors the reader’s ‘Global Racial Enemy’ slot replacement — the domestic, citizenship-stripping mechanism parallel to COINTELPRO racialization.