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Translator, Traitor: a Critical Ethnography of a U.S

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Translator, Traitor: a Critical Ethnography of a U.S City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 6-2014 Translator, traitor: A critical ethnography of a U.S. terrorism trial Maya Hess Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/226 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] TRANSLATOR, TRAITOR: A CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF A U.S. TERRORISM TRIAL by MAYA HESS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 ii © 2014 MAYA HESS All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Criminal Justice in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Diana Gordon ______________________ _____________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Deborah Koetzle ______________________ _____________________________________ Date Executive Officer Susan Opotow __________________________________________ David Brotherton __________________________________________ Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv Abstract TRANSLATOR, TRAITOR: A CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF A U.S. TERRORISM TRIAL by Maya Hess Adviser: Professor Diana Gordon Historically, the role of translators and interpreters has suffered from multiple misconceptions. In theaters of war, these linguists are often viewed as traitors and kidnapped, tortured, or killed; if they work in the terrorism arena, they may be prosecuted and convicted as terrorist agents. In United States v. Ahmed Abdel Sattar, a/k/a “Abu Omar,” a/k/a “Dr. Ahmed,” Lynne Stewart, and Mohammed [sic] Yousry, 02 Cr. 395 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y. 2003), Yousry, an Arabic linguist and scholar of Middle Eastern history, was labeled such an agent, his work as translator/interpreter construed as material support to terrorism, and his expertise recast as dangerous knowledge. Drawing on moral panic theory and applying ethnographic content analysis in combination with the extended case method, this critical ethnography of a terrorism trial (a) analyzes trial records and courtroom observations; (b) relates the findings to secondary data, such as Islamophobia polls and translator-traitor incidents and litigation; and (c) locates the synthesized product within an extralegal and historical context. The verdict’s effects on the translation and interpreting community, academia, the terrorism knowledge base, and, by extension, national security are discussed and policy solutions offered. v Acknowledgments This dissertation did not come easily. It was an emotional rollercoaster that entailed deep losses along the way, and I would not have managed if it weren’t for the support of a circle of extraordinary people, who prodded me forward and were important and instrumental in ways they may never know. Foremost among them is my daughter, Ila, whose teen years were intertwined with my work as a forensic linguist on terrorism trials, especially the Yousry case. I thank her for her patience, for tolerating my absorption with this topic, and for putting up with the mountains of terrorism data piled up in our apartment all these years. My heartfelt thanks go to the members of my dissertation committee, for whom I have the highest regard. I have been very fortunate to have a scholar of the stature of Diana (Dinni) Gordon as my chair; her expert and thought-provoking advice, detailed comments, as well as warm and steady encouragement made this dissertation a reality. I am deeply grateful to David Brotherton, one of the nation’s leading ethnographers, who has gone out of his way to provide me with critical insights and unwavering support. I wish to thank Susan Opotow, whose groundbreaking work on moral exclusion taught me the concepts and academic vocabulary of social (in)justice. The theory underlying this dissertation is moral panic, and I had the privilege of studying under one of its originators, Jock Young, by all accounts one of the most influential cultural criminologists of our time. Jock passed away while I was writing these pages. As an examiner during my dissertation proposal defense, he engaged me in absorbing discussions in his paper-strewn office, which I will cherish forever. In this context, I also gratefully acknowledge the faculty of the PhD Department of Criminal Justice at John Jay College/CUNY Graduate Center, which provided me with a stellar education and the skills to frame my practical experiences in the terrorism arena in a scholarly manner. vi I am particularly indebted to my friend Naomi Robbins for her always thoughtful edits, Muhammad Muslih for his invaluable insights, and Ruth Bittorf, a fellow linguist and historian, for stimulating discussions of the translation/interpreting issues involved in this case. A special thank you likewise goes to my research assistant, Audrey Greene, who helped assure interrater reliability, as well as to Sally Lam, who assisted with dissertation PowerPoint presentations. At a point when the writing ground to a halt, my friend and neighbor Eileen Raffo pried me loose from my basement office and offered me light in her beautiful seaside home. Colleen Johnson also opened her pristine New England cottage to me and generously lent an ear, as did many other friends probably more times than they care to remember. Lastly, I owe a debt of gratitude to Robert Hatcher, director of the Wellness Center at CUNY’s Graduate Center. His perceptive analysis enabled me to examine my thinking and emotions associated with terrorism trials and errors of justice, and gain a more detached perspective while retaining my passion for a story that needed to be told. vii Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Background and Cause of Action ................................................................................. 4 Indictments .................................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: Significance ................................................................................................................. 14 Expansion of the Translator/Interpreter Role ........................................................................... 14 Dangerous Knowledge .............................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 3: Research Question ....................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 4: Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................... 34 Chapter 5: Methodology and Data ................................................................................................ 38 Critical Ethnography ................................................................................................................. 38 Ethnographic Content Analysis ................................................................................................ 40 Explanation of Methodological Strategies ................................................................................ 42 Chapter 6: Legal Factors ............................................................................................................... 46 Cause of Action......................................................................................................................... 46 Severance .................................................................................................................................. 46 Jury Anonymity ........................................................................................................................ 54 Trial Sequence .......................................................................................................................... 64 Evidence .................................................................................................................................... 69 Limiting Instructions ............................................................................................................... 102 Jury Instructions ...................................................................................................................... 122 Trial Complexity ..................................................................................................................... 135 Chapter 7: Extralegal Factors ...................................................................................................... 148 The Translator-Traitor Mentality ............................................................................................ 148 Islamophobia ........................................................................................................................... 179 Moral Panic ............................................................................................................................. 191 Chapter 8: Concluding Thoughts and Contribution .................................................................... 216
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