Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The attack on the World Trade Center had an enormous impact on Muslims in Jersey City. In particular, it sparked a critical turning point in the construction of Muslim identities, in-group community cohesion and social interactions with others in Jersey City. It was not so much the attack itself, but what came in its aftermath—the state war on terrorism (with its transnational and local variations), the media images and stories linking Arab Muslims with terrorists, and the social and economic backlash against Arab Muslims—that caused such profound social effects. In the face of intense scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), detentions by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and hostility and hate crimes by neighbors and employers, paradoxically, Muslims in Jersey City have not attempted to “blend” into American life and hide their “Muslimness.” On the contrary, they have embraced a more traditional adherence to religious practices of Islam, striving to represent what they call “the true” Islam. The analysis in this paper is part of a broader project examining the impact of September 11th on social interactions among diverse groups in Jersey City. Here, I draw on two years of ethnographic research (September 2001 to September 2003) to discuss some of the most urgent social effects of 9/11 on Muslims in Jersey City. My aim is to identify the critical challenges facing Muslims, to document the ways Muslims have responded to these challenges, and to consider the implications for Muslim community life and intergroup relations.