The Criminalization of Islam in the Trump Era

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

For many in the Muslim community in the United States, the election of Donald Trump has felt as much as a threat to sense of belonging as the post-9/11 era. In fact, anti-Islamic sentiment was confined mostly to the fringe right after 9/11, but has now become mainstream (Bail 2015). Critical criminologists have demonstrated that shifting a population into a criminal category does not begin with the passing of law but instead with the public, media, and politicians trying out different versions of legal positions that later do or do not become law. This panel brings together analyses of social institutions currently “trying out” the criminalization of Islam in the United States.

Sub Unit

• Area X. Perceptions and Responses to Crime and Justice / 53. Perceptions of Justice and Legal Marginalization

Division of Special Interest

• Divisions of Special Interest / Division on Terrorism & Bias Crime

Individual Presentations

• Multi-Scalar Ethnoracial Stigma and the Criminalization of Muslim Immigrant Organizations - Ali Chaudhary, Rutgers University

• Suicide Bombers, Airports, and X-Boxes: Millennials’ Socialization about Islam - Sarah Beth Beth Kaufman, Trinity University; Habiba Beth Noor, Trinity University

• Muslim-Jewish Sisterhood: Fears of Victimization and Criminalization - Nawal Ammar, Rowan University

Chair

• Sarah Beth Beth Kaufman, Trinity University

Discussant

• Avi Brisman, Eastern Kentucky University