Homeland Insecurity: The Arab-American Experience after 9/11, a lecture sponsored by CMES's Islam in the West program, wasthe subject of an article in the September 22nd, 2009 edition oftheHarvard Crimson. Read the full article at Post 9/11, Prof Talks on Hate Crimes.
Post 9/11, Prof Talks on Hate Crimes
By Rediet T. Abebe
Contributing Writer
Professor Louise Cainkar led a talk yesterday on her new work “HomelandInsecurity: The Arab-American Experience after 9/11” as part of aseries of “Islam in the West” seminars organized by the Center forMiddle Eastern Studies here at Harvard.
This effort is one of the reasons that led the Center for Middle Eastern Studies to expand and build an interdisciplinary study of the Muslim culture, said Jocelyne Cesari, director of the Islam in the West Institute, a part of the Center. Harvard students and otheraffiliates have been involved in research and graduate study workshopsin the organization’s attempt to assist a contemporary wave of thinkingabout Islamic culture.
The event consisted of two sections: a presentation about the content of Cainkar’s book and a discussion with the audience.
The presentation provided analysis and evaluation based onCainkar’s book—“the first in-depth post 9/11 survey,” according toCesari. Cainkar spoke on her methodology, having interviewed 102Muslims in the suburban and metropolitan Chicago area after theincident as part of her research.
According to Cainkar’s findings, “the anti-Muslim socialclimate had been there” since before 9/11, with the attacks justproviding an open forum for the “defensive hate crimes.” She evaluatesthe different responses from the Muslim community, whether throughincreasing religiosity, strengthening of bonds between different Muslimcommunities or segregating from non-citizens.
The growth in “non-quantifiable hate crimes” has, however,affected the environment for the better in that it brought this racialissue to center stage, Cainkar said, adding that this is essential toease the way of the process of integration.
Some attendees were skeptical of Cainkar’s findings.
“It was based on self-selecting statistics, exclusive of FBI’sstudies”, said Phillip Davis, a non-Harvard affiliate, who expressedhis disagreement with Professor’s treatment of the government’sinvolvement in dealing with the tense environment of 9/11.
Michael McCarrick, an intern at the Harvard Kennedy School’sCarr Center for Human Rights Policy, disagreed. “She presented a lot ofinteresting, in-depth data. I was surprised at some of the results”, hesaid.
But Cainkar cautioned that much still needs to be done to resolve the racial issue.
“The sad thing is, though, we have not learned a thing”, Cainkar said. “We keep making the same mistakes.”