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Anxious and Active: Muslim Perception of Discrimination and Treatment and its Political Consequences in the Post-September 11, 2001 United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2010

Farida Jalalzai
Farida Jalalzai*
Affiliation:
University of Missouri, St. Louis
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Farida Jalalzai, Department of Political Science, University of Missouri, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121-4499. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative analysis, this article assesses discrimination and anxiety among Muslims in the post-September 11, 2001 United States. Substantial portions of Muslim-Americans are indeed anxious and report personal and group discrimination. However, this is guided by many factors including religious salience, age, education, political attentiveness, native born status, and years lived in the United States. Respondents who are more anxious and know victims of religious discrimination are also more active in politics. However, personal experiences with discrimination are unrelated to political participation. Overall, in spite of or perhaps because of anxiety over their present status, Muslim-Americans are highly functional in the political sphere. Many are now more active in politics than prior to September 11, 2001.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , April 2011 , pp. 71 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2010

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