Unprovable sleeper-cell claims rest on racialized images of irrational religious men

Evidence

Unconventional and unpredictable, Bin Laden’s network employs the tactic of ‘sleeper cells,’ where ‘operatives are often established in foreign countries for extended periods of time, up to several years, prior to a given operation being executed. Preceding the activation of the operation, they may live as regular citizens, leading respectable lives, avoiding official attention.’ The concept of the sleeper cell, with its biological associations, is one that is central to the state’s case, invoking as it has historically, the ‘bodily degeneracy’ of the marked group as well as the threat of contamination. A ‘sleeper cell’ provides the possibility of being pathological, yet appearing ‘normal’: disease deceptively hidden in an otherwise respectable body. — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 101 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The sleeper cell concept casts racialized bodies as hidden disease — Sherene Razack, Casting Out: The Eviction of Muslims…, 101; Claims about religious disloyalty became claims of racial inferiority — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 323; The sleeper-cell threat erased distinctions between Arab Muslims and American citizens in public suspicion — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 85 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• The sleeper cell concept casts racialized bodies as hidden disease #expands (0.92) — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 101