See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

The United States reacted to the September 11 terrorist attacks with both domestic and foreign policy actions. President George W. Bush coined the term “War on Terror” shortly after the attacks, and it has been used as an umbrella term that covers the US invasions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere in the Middle East. One result of the War on Terror was the creation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in which prisoners of war were held indefinitely without trial and tortured; as Kaur notes in See No Stranger, this practice was justified because the prison was not on US soil.

The term has fallen out of fashion as American support of the decades-long wars has dwindled, but the governmental response to 9/11 created a new framework for viewing the tragedy and Arab people more broadly:

This is […] a new kind of evil. And we understand. And the American people are beginning to understand. This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while. And the American people must be patient. I’m going to be patient. […] I will keep my focus to make sure that not only are these brought to justice, but anybody who’s been associated will be brought to justice (Bush, George W., “Remarks by the President Upon Arrival.” The White House. 16 Sep. 2001).

Language like “crusade,” “evil,” and “anybody who’s been associated” contributed to the already growing environment of fear and anti-Arab bias in the US. As Kaur notes in her text, South Asian and Southwest Asian and North African people, particularly those who wore hijabs or turbans, were targeted for violence. In 2002, Human Rights Watch reported that in the remaining months of 2001, over 600 9/11-related violent hate crimes occurred (“‘We Are Not the Enemy”: Hate Crimes Against Arabs, Muslims, and Those Perceived to be Arab or Muslim after September 11.” Human Rights Watch, Nov. 2002).

Alongside interpersonal violence and harassment, anti-Arab bias was perpetuated due to US domestic policy. A prominent example is the USA Patriot Act of 2001, which expanded the US’s power to “deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world” (“USA Patriot Act of 2001.” Congress.gov, 26 Oct. 2001). This act was used to justify and fund increased surveillance of suspected terrorists. In practice, state and federal law enforcement began surveilling mosques, Muslim student groups, and other Arab community organizations. In See No Stranger, Kaur describes the effects of this and other policies when she recounts being brutalized by a police officer at a demonstration.

Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were created in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Since the 9/11 attacks involved hijacking airplanes, the TSA was created to heighten security in airports and thwart future attacks. However, the TSA has been accused of racial profiling, frequently singling out South Asian and Arab passengers for additional screening or detainment. The Department of Homeland Security subsumed the preexisting Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) departments and manages everything pertaining to the US Border. As with the TSA, DHS has been criticized for surveilling Arab Americans without suspicion and engaging in other discriminatory tactics.