Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans After 9/11

How Muslim-American identity has been shaped by 9/11 and its after effects

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Under Attack 3. Encountering Intolerance 4. Backlash 5. Repercussions 6. Adaptations 7. Conclusion Notes Index

About the Author :
Lori Peek is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis at Colorado State University. She has been involved in disaster research for more than a decade and has published widely in the areas of risk and social vulnerability.

Review :
"This is an intensely personal work of scholarship...[It] provides an important window into the hearts and minds of the Muslims among us. It will be much appreciated by scholars of disaster response as well as social scientists interested in the experience of minority populations." The International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters "Behind the Backlash not only documents the impact of backlash, it also illuminates how 9/11 became the turning point in Muslim American experiences. As we enter the second decade since the attacks, this will be an important study for scholars seeking to understand what lies ahead for Muslims living in the United States." American Journal of Sociology, January 2012 "Behind the Backlash addresses the issue of Muslim American backlash in a post 9/11 environment through the use of a strong and clear thesis that explicates the public and political exclusion faced by Muslim Americans before and particularly, in the aftermath of 9/11...This study is significant because it provides outstanding and relevant insight into the public and political reaction to crisis events and the subsequent marginalization of members of society due to catastrophes beyond their control. Peek's research is also important...[she] provides the reader with testimonials that are compelling and invaluable to an understanding of the human and societal components and consequences resulting from crisis events. Lori Peek's work is insightful...[i]t enhances the reader's awareness of the lived experiences of sectors of society who are impacted by resulting societal and political scapegoating." Social Science Journal "[A] well-researched, thoughtful examination of how processes of postdisaster backlash heighten social boundaries, despite both popular and scholarly assumptions of solidarity after disaster... One highlight of Peek's analysis is her sensitive consideration of the impact of 9/11 backlash on respondents who are less 'visibly Muslim.'...[The book] is engagingly written and often powerful." Sociology of Religion "What Peek ha[s] accomplished...is a pedagogical feat: [she has] taken topics that are certainly not dinnertime conversation and ha[s] woven such intricate tapestries of the social construction and framing of experience (whether positive or negative, scrutinized or ignored) that the reader comes away with a cogent understanding of the impact of the backlash of disaster on an underrepresented and socially 'misconstructed' ethnic group in the United States (Muslim Americans), the contribution of such an analysis to the study of technological disasters (under which terrorism is subsumed), and a quick course in how ethnographic research should be done. If it were up to me, Peek's Behind the Backlash would be required reading for every student of sociology and of disasters." Sociological Inquiry "Lori Peek's fascinating book listens to the voices of 140 Muslim-Americans who were subjected to discrimination and harassment both before and after the attacks... Peek takes these specific instances and weaves them into a narrative of scapegoating and blame after a disaster that will inform discussions about religion, race relations, and disaster research." Natural Hazards Observer, January 2012 "Expertly organizing data from in-depth interviews of 140 Muslim Americans conducted soon after September 11, Peek provides a compelling and intimate look at members of a community struggling with events that suddenly overtook their lives. Throughout, Peek demonstrates great skill as a researcher and writer... The book's main contribution is its first-hand accounting of Muslim Americans' experiences with, and efforts to cope with, prejudice after September 11... Behind the Backlash demonstrates the value of systematic qualitative work in the social sciences. By allowing her participants to speak in their own voices and then by engaging in the arduous work of integrating those many perspectives, Peek offers tremendous insight into the Muslim American experience in the wake of September 11." Political Science Quarterly, Winter 2011 "[The book]is most useful as a compilation of firsthand accounts of young Muslim Americans' experiences after 9/11. The fact that Peek was able to begin interviewing her respondents so soon after the attacks provides a window into the raw feelings of a population experiencing sudden scapegoating and discrimination and the sometimes surprising ways in which they dealt with and responded to this backlash." Contemporary Sociology, May 2012 "[A]n accessible, well-written exploration of the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, focusing specifically on how members of the Muslim American community felt and coped with the backlash that followed the attacks... Peek does a good job of telling a story we all already know without sensationalizing or falling prey to popular inflammatory rhetoric. The most compelling part of the text comes from the voices of the Muslim Americans themselves... On the whole, this is a strong, sociological study, well-researched, easy to read, recommended for anyone interested in exploring Islamic studies, religion in America, and the sociology of America... [T]his book offers insight into what it means to be a Muslim American and into the dynamics of contemporary American life." Religious Studies Review, September 2012