Innocent Until Proven Muslim

“Dr. Maha Hilal has done something extraordinary: to seamlessly blend academic analysis, social theory, political insight, moral conviction, and personal experience into a history of the post-9⁄11 United States like none other. Her complex definition of Islamophobia – and acute sense of how it works through language – are profoundly illuminating. Furthermore, her thorough examination and critical account of how language underwrites state violence against Muslims is deeply disturbing. Hilal’s rigorous effort to understand vast, racialized systems of state power is equalled by her compassion for their victims. This gives Innocent Until Proven Muslim a big heart, which itself feels like resistance to the dehumanizing logic of the War on Terror. May we all learn from Dr. Hilal’s wisdom and courage.” –Jeremy Varon, Professor of History at The New School

“This is the book we’ve been waiting for: a people’s history of the US-led War on Terror. In Innocent until Proven Muslim, we have a coherent and damning exposé of the never-ending US response to 9⁄11 and the complicit Muslims who have signed on to this catastrophic project.” –Dr. Nazia Kazi, author of Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics, and associate professor of anthropology at Stockton University

“As a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner for 14 years, I’ve found few books that can speak to the violence of a war of which I was, and continue to be, a casualty. Dr. Hilal’s book brilliantly exposes the destructive logics behind the war and its innumerable impacts–visible and invisible–on Muslims across the globe. Her unflinching commitment to presenting a comprehensive account of the structures and harms of the War on Terror will inevitably shift the tide towards justice and accountability for Muslims. This couldn’t be more important at this juncture in time.” –Mohamedou Slahi, author of Guantánamo Diary

“In this important book, Dr. Maha Hilal shows how the War on Terror both reflected and reinforced ideas of American exceptionalism and negative stereotypes about Islam and its adherents. In tightly argued prose, Hilal details exactly how, in the aftermath of the 9⁄11 attacks, the state exploited these Islamophobic tropes to shape an idea of terrorism as an almost exclusively Muslim phenomenon. She deftly explicates how the government leveraged this prejudicial narrative to fundamentally reshape the legal and policy landscape in an unprecedented expansion of executive power that would permit it to operate outside of the limits imposed by existing legal institutions. Anyone attempting to come to grips with the harm this war has done to Muslims and Muslim Americans, American constitutionalism and the wider world, will have to address the fundamental questions this vital book raises.” –Dr. David Fagelson, Associate Professor, American University

“Dr. Maha Hilal’s powerful and accessible account of the US War on Terror is nothing less than a freedom manifesto for the twenty-first century. Guiding the reader step by step through the War on Terror’s false premises and horrific policies, Dr. Hilal provides us with the unapologetic and bold ideas needed to free us from the internalized oppression and racist assumptions at the heart of this never-ending war. This book lights the path of liberation.” –Edward E. Curtis IV, William M. and Gail M. Plater Chair of the Liberal Arts, IU School of Liberal Arts, Indianapolis

Dr. Maha Hilal is an expert on institutionalized Islamophobia and has spent her career researching, writing on, and advocating and organizing against it. She is cofounder of Justice for Muslims Collective. Dr. Hilal holds a PhD in Justice, Law, and Society from American University and has received many awards, including the Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship, the Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace, and a Reebok Human Rights Fellowship. Her writings have been published in Al Jazeera, The Daily Beast, Vox, and US News, among others.

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