9/11 Impacts on Muslims in Prison

18 Pages Posted: 17 Jan 2022 Last revised: 23 Jun 2022

See all articles by SpearIt

SpearIt

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law

Date Written: January 14, 2022

Abstract

This essay is part of a volume that reflects on the 20-year anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. The work examines the impacts this event had on the management of Muslims in prison. Soon after the attacks, the culture war against Muslims in the United States began to seep into prisons, where Muslims faced heightened levels of Islamophobia, which cut across several areas of existence: the ability to access religious literature, religious leaders, and paraphernalia, in addition to the federal creation of Communication Management Units. There was also heightened hysteria about the idea of Muslim radicalization in prison, which culminated in no less than three congressional hearings about the dangers and national security risks posed by Muslims in prison. This essay examines these developments and argues that many of the discriminatory measures that were implemented were rehashed tactics employed by prisons in previous eras. As such, prisons had a blueprint for Muslim discrimination, much of which was recycled in the post-9/11 era.

Keywords: Muslim, Islam, Prisons, Incarceration, 9/11, Islamophobia, Religion, Prison Litigation, Rehabilitation

JEL Classification: K14, K39, K49

Suggested Citation

SpearIt, 9/11 Impacts on Muslims in Prison (January 14, 2022). Michigan Journal of Race & Law, Vol. 27, p. 233, 2021, U. of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2022-02, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4009018

SpearIt (Contact Author)

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law ( email )

3900 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

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