Denver Law Review Volume 81 Issue 4 Symposium - Post-9/11 Civil Rights Article 3 December 2020 Stolen Freedoms: Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians in the Wake of Post 9/11 Backlash Dalia Hashad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/dlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Dalia Hashad, Stolen Freedoms: Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians in the Wake of Post 9/11 Backlash, 81 Denv. U. L. Rev. 735 (2004). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Denver Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. STOLEN FREEDOMS: ARABS, MUSLIMS, AND SOUTH ASIANS IN THE WAKE OF POST 9/11 BACKLASH DALIA HASHADt Since 9/11, the United States government's "War on Terror" has, in large part, been an attack on innocent Arabs, people from the Middle East and South Asia, and Muslims. Using race, ethnicity and religion as a proxy for criminal behavior, law enforcement has zeroed in on people of certain ethnicities and a single faith. The Department of Justice (DOJ), now engulfed in the Department of Homeland Security, has rolled out programs and established policies that target, harass and in many in- stances, make life miserable for Arabs and Muslims in this country. The overwhelming majority in these groups are innocent of any criminal ac- tivity, however their persecution by zealous law enforcement results in thousands of needless tragedies. For every day that has passed since 9/11, there are dozens of painful stories borne of government-instituted discrimination and racist implementation of policy.