The Anti-Black, Islamophobic Dimensions of CVE Surveillance
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Minnesota State University, Mankato Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects Capstone Projects 2017 Blurred Intersections: The Anti-Black, Islamophobic Dimensions of CVE Surveillance Zeinab A. Dahir Minnesota State University, Mankato Follow this and additional works at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds Part of the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Dahir, Z. A. (2017). Blurred Intersections: The Anti-Black, Islamophobic Dimensions of CVE Surveillance [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/728/ This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. Blurred Intersections: The Anti-Black, Islamophobic Dimensions of CVE Surveillance By Zeinab A. Dahir A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In Gender and Women’s Studies Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota May 2017 (May 2017) Blurred Intersections: The Anti-Black, Islamophobic Dimensions of CVE Surveillance Zeinab A. Dahir This thesis has been examined and approved by the following members of the student’s committee. ________________________________ Dr. Laura Harrison ________________________________ Dr. Danielle Haque ________________________________ Dr. Nick Clarkson Abstract: Modern mechanisms of state surveillance reinforce gendered, raced, classed and sexed power hierarchies. Forms of control and regulation of “problem bodies” are framed as neutral or benign forms of bureaucratic bookkeeping (Dubrofsky and Magnet, 2015). This thesis explores the possible Islamophobic and Anti-Black dimensions of Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) program, a counterterrorism community outreach program initiated by the federal government in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which targets the Somali community. I will be evaluating whether CVE programs, initiated by state agencies, transform into a site of surveillance. This thesis will examine declassified state documents from sources such as Homeland Security and the FBI relating to CVE programs, which detail program rationale, function, and implantation. My research will examine the presence of Anti-Black racism and Islamophobia in the purpose and deployment CVE programs. Additionally, I will be analyzing how mechanisms of surveillance operate at the intersections of Anti-Black racism and Islamophobia and how do CVE programs impact and shape the lived realities of Somali Muslims. This study of CVE programs is, by necessity, an analysis of power relations, and relies on an intersectional feminist approach to surveillance studies. Through this, I will produce a coherent understanding of how surveillance mechanisms build on the criminalization and over-policing of Black communities to surveil, mark and easily monitor Somali Muslims in Minnesota. The recent election of Donald Trump and the looming threat to activate a Muslim registry makes this research more relevant and necessary. i Acknowledgements All praise is due to Allah, Allah, The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. This project would not be possible without the foundational work by Black feminist pioneers that have come before me. As a Black Muslim woman, I would be remiss not to acknowledge how the activism, scholarship, and writing of Black feminist scholars continues to inform my feminist politics and research. This research builds on the Black feminist intersectional framework to examine how structures of domination reinforce each other in the Somali Muslim experience. Their foundational contributions to the field of Gender and Women’s Studies guides my efforts as I create a transformative scholarship. Second, I thank my mother for nurturing the love of knowledge and study in me. I am profoundly grateful to my family for providing me with support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this thesis. I am appreciative for the continued support, inspiration, and strength of my friends, cohort, and colleagues who have been with me through this journey. This research would not have been possible without the continuous support and care of my beloved mentors and professors at the Gender and Women’s Studies Department. I am grateful to you for making my pursuit of graduate studies possible. Finally, I would like to thank my beloved committee chair and mentor, Dr. Laura Harrison. This project would not have been possible without your guidance, motivation, and honesty. You pushed me to dig deep, stay true to my voice, and reminded me of the importance of this work. I would like to thank Dr. Daniel Haque for always believing in me and keeping me grounded with your honesty and kindness. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Nick Clarkson for your guidance and advice. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………………iii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................6 Historicizing Somali Immigrant Experience in Minnesota .............................................. 7 Somali Immigrants: Conditions and Material Reality ................................................... 10 Racialzing Islamophobia: All Muslim As Arab .............................................................. 14 Characterizing Islamophobia ......................................................................................... 20 Islamophobia and the Black Muslim Threat .................................................................. 22 Theorizing on State Surveillance .................................................................................... 25 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: Methodology ..............................................................................................................30 Methods .......................................................................................................................... 31 Positionality .................................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 4: Analysis .....................................................................................................................38 CVE in Minnesota: "Building Community Resilience" .................................................. 38 The Urban Terrorist: Merging Counterterrorism and Anti-gang Policing ................... 40 Prefacing Soft Surveillance ............................................................................................ 51 The Soft Surveillance of Community Outreach .............................................................. 52 Chapter 5: Conclusion .................................................................................................................58 The "Hard" Consequences of CVE's Soft Surveillance .................................................. 58 Towards a Framework of Black Muslim Resistance ...................................................... 62 iii Directions for Future Research ...................................................................................... 66 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................68 iv Chapter 1: Introduction On October 3rd, 2012, Muslim Advocate—a national legal advocacy organization that focuses on protecting civil rights and liberties of Muslims—filed a first amendment complaint on behalf of eleven Muslim organizations and individual plaintiffs (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2015). The lawsuit “challenges the New York Police Department’s suspect-less surveillance of Muslim Americans in New Jersey solely because of their Muslim identity” (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2012). The systemic surveillance of Muslim communities and individuals by the New York Police Department began shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center. The NYPD “established a sprawling and secretive human mapping and suspicion-less surveillance program that targeted Muslim American communities in New York, New Jersey, and beyond” (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2012). New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s attempt to settle the lawsuit was rejected by a federal judge because the proposed deal did not provide sufficient oversight of an agency that habitually, and purposefully violated free speech and religion laws