15 Years After 9/11, Still Searching for Monsters to Destroy

September 11, 2001 ushered in an era marked by the unending War on Terror, dragnet government surveillance programs, and escalating attacks on people perceived to be Muslim. Just last month, Khalid Jabara, a 37-year old Lebanese American man was shot and killed on his front porch in Tulsa Oklahoma by a neighbor who had harassed his family for years, calling them dirty Arabs and Mooslems .

This is just one of the many reported attacks on people perceived as Muslims in the United States. Last year, there were 174 incidents of anti-Muslim violence, and that’s only if you count the attacks that made headlines.

This backlash is just tip of the iceberg. Below the surface is a growing Islamophobia with deep roots in history and empire. Where does the idea of the ‘Muslim enemy’ come from? And how has it evolved into what we see today?

Fifteen years after 9/11, Deepa Kumar, author of Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, takes us back nearly 15 centuries to find out.

Featuring:

Robynn Takayama, radio producer, Nihal Mehta, founding member Ahimsa Tour, Annie Koh, Asian Pacific Islander Coalition Against War, Chris Durazo, Co-Founder of Nosei Network, Maneesh Kenia, former KUSF DJ and member of the Dhamaal Collective, Yuri Kochiyama, Deepa Kumar, Professor of Media Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University, author of Islamophobia and Politics of Empire

Credits:

5-Song EP Producer: Robynn Takayama

Constructing the Muslim Enemy From the Crusades to 9/11 Recordist: Jeff Zavala with ZGraphix Productions: zgraphix.org

Host: Marie Choi

Producers: Marie Choi, Monica Lopez, R.J. Lozada

Executive Director: Lisa Rudman

Audience Engagement: Vera Tykulsker

Web Editor: Kwan Booth

Music:
– Night Owl by Broke for Free
– Summer Spliffs by Broke for Free
– A Tale of Two Cars by Cory Gray
– Badlands by Cory Gray
– First Holes by Cory Gray
– String Anticipation by Cory Gray
– Bed by Jahzzar
– Interlude ” In Anxious Shadows by Kai Engel
– Under Suspicion by Lee Rosevere
– Homage by Paniks
– Subdivision of the Masses by Philipp Weigl

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