© COPYRIGHT by Maha Hilal 2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I dedicate this dissertation to my father, Mohammed Hilal (1945-1992), whose love and care shaped my road to success. This dissertation is also dedicated to my beautiful and amazingly compassionate mother, Laila El-Marazki, who has been my pillar of strength throughout the process of obtaining my doctorate. This dissertation is also dedicated to all those who have suffered injustice and to those who speak up in the face of injustice. “TOO DAMN MUSLIM TO BE TRUSTED”: THE WAR ON TERROR AND THE MUSLIM AMERICAN RESPONSE BY Maha Hilal ABSTRACT “Our war is not against Islam…..Our war is a war against evil…” -President George W. Bush Despite President Bush’s rhetoric attempting to separate Muslims in general from terrorists who adhere to the Islamic faith, the policies of the War on Terror have generally focused on Muslims domestically and abroad, often for no greater reason than a shared religious identity with the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack (see for example, National Special Entry-Exit Registration). While foreign-born Muslims were the primary subjects of earlier policies in the War on Terror, several cases involving Muslim Americans suggest that despite holding U.S. citizenship, they may be subject to differential standards of justice (i.e. Hamdi v. Rumsfeld or the targeted killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki). Building on previous scholarship that has examined the Muslim American experience post 9/11, this dissertation focuses on the relationship between the substance and implementation of laws and policies and Muslim American attitudes towards political efficacy and orientations towards the U.S. government. In addition, this dissertation examines the relationship between policy design and implementation and Muslim American political participation, alienation, and withdrawal. This study was approached through the lens of social construction in policy design, a theoretical framework that was pioneered by Anne Schneider and Helen Ingram. Schneider and ii Ingram (1993, 1997) focus on the role of public policy in fostering and maintaining democracy. With the goal of understanding public policy as a vehicle to promoting or inhibiting democracy, their analysis focuses on how the use of social constructions of different policy group targets can affect their attitudes towards government and citizenship, in addition to behaviors such as political participation. According to Schneider and Ingram (1993, 1997, 20005), groups with favorable constructions can expect to receive positive treatment and exhibit positive attitudes towards government and participate at higher levels than groups with negative social constructions, who will develop negative orientations towards government, a decrease in feelings of political efficacy, and lower levels of political participation. Within this conceptualization of the impact of policy on target groups is the element of political power, which Schneider and Ingram (1993, 1997, 2005) examine as a measure of the degree to which different target groups can challenge their social construction and, subsequently, the policy benefits or burdens directed at them. Research studying the impact of policies on differently constructed groups (welfare recipients, veterans, etc.) has empirically verified Schneider and Ingram’s (1993, 1997, 2005) social construction in policy design theory. However, none of the existing research has yet to apply this framework to Muslim Americans as a group and in the context of counter-terrorism policies. In order to situate the Muslim American responses according to the theories’ main propositions, this study provides a background on many of the post 9/11 counter-terrorism policies, highlighting those policies that have disproportionately impacted members of this group. This research also examines how the War on Terror has been framed, and the actors involved in the construction of the Muslim image, with a focus on discerning the ways in which iii members of this population have been demonized and positioned as collectively responsible for acts of terrorism perpetrated by other Muslims. This study utilized a mixed methods approach and included a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. Purposive sampling was used in order to obtain a sample of Muslim Americans from different racial and ethnic backgrounds proportionate to the demographics of this community in the United States. The study findings are based on surveys from 75 individuals and interviews with 61 individuals. The findings in this study reveal that Muslim Americans overwhelmingly perceive themselves to be the target of the War on Terror policies. Further, the data in this study shows that Muslim Americans across a range of backgrounds question the degree to which they are entitled to equity in both cultural and legal citizenship, including procedural justice. Despite exhibiting these views towards citizenship and procedural justice, a majority of Muslim Americans nonetheless reported increased levels of political participation as a response to policies that targeted them. These findings provide additional empirical support for the social construction in policy design framework. Specifically, this data demonstrates that Muslim Americans in large part believe themselves to be the policy targets and have internalized many of the social constructions that have emerged vis-à-vis policy design and implementation. Consequently, and as the framework suggests, Muslim Americans have developed subsequently negative orientations towards government and a sense of diminished citizenship. While the study results in terms of increased political participation may appear to be at odds with what the framework suggests (i.e. decreased political participation for negatively constructed powerless groups), these increased levels of political participation are more properly couched as being a function of fear or threat, iv and in this sense a symptom of being targeted. These findings not only provide support for the social construction in policy design theory, they also underscore the implications of creating policy that works towards buttressing a democratic system with equal citizenship, which includes the ability for all citizens to voice discontent. v PREFACE fire in the city air and i feared for my sister's life in a way never before. and then, and now, i fear for the rest of us. first, please god, let it be a mistake, the pilot's heart failed, the plane's engine died. then please god, let it be a nightmare, wake me now. please god, after the second plane, please, don't let it be anyone who looks like my brothers. i do not know how bad a life has to break in order to kill. i have never been so hungry that i willed hunger i have never been so angry as to want to control a gun over a pen. not really. even as a woman, as a palestinian, as a broken human being. never this broken. more than ever, i believe there is no difference. the most privileged nation, most americans do not know the difference between indians, afghanis, syrians, muslims, sikhs, hindus. more than ever, there is no difference. … one more person ask me if i knew the hijackers. one more motherfucker ask me what navy my brother is in. one more person assume no arabs or muslims were killed.one more person assume they know me, or that i represent a people. or that a people represent an evil. or that evil is as simple as a flag and words on a page. we did not vilify all white men when mcveigh bombed oklahoma. america did not give out his family's addresses or where he went to church. or blame the bible or pat robertson. and when the networks air footage of palestinians dancing in the street, there is no apology that hungry children are bribed with sweets that turn their teeth brown. that correspondents edit images. that archives are there to facilitate lazy and inaccurate journalism. and when we talk about holy books and hooded men and death, why do we never mention the kkk? Suheir Hammad, First Writing Since vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As I turn the pages of my dissertation and close this chapter of my life, I am simultaneously reflecting on all the individuals who helped me to get to this point. First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee members, whose support brought me to the finish line. I came to know each of them through different points in my PhD career, and they have all indelibly shaped my scholarly journey. I have known Dr. Abu-Nimer from my first days at American University, and I cannot thank him enough for serving as the chair of my dissertation committee. I also thank him for his tutelage, immense knowledge, and genuine care for me as a student. His work and efforts to secure peace in different communities around the world continues to inspire me, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to study under him. I owe much thanks to Dr. David Fagelson. In the spring of 2009, I took my first class with Dr. Fagelson and his classes on philosophy, which seemed abstract at first, taught me the value and importance of critical thinking. I have fond memories from all his classes and will carry everything I learned from them with me throughout my scholarly journey. Dr. Fagelson was also one of my biggest supports throughout this process, and I know that without his assistance, care, and belief in my ability to succeed, I would have never persevered in this program. To him, I owe my deepest thanks. Professor Mertus was critical in my journey throughout the PhD. Before coming to American University, I had purchased a book she edited titled The Suitcase: Refugee Voices from Bosnia and Croatia. I absolutely loved the book and was extremely enthusiastic when I learned of the opportunity to take one of her classes at American University. I took Professor Mertus’ class on human rights in the fall of 2009 and not only did she re-invigorate my passion for human rights, she also embodied the true meaning of what a scholar-practitioner is.