We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Casting Out: Exploring the Racialization of Muslims

A book review authored by Fatemeh Fakhraie from Islam on My Side of the book entitled, Casting Out: Exploring the Racialization of Muslims by Sherene H. Razack.

The reviewer starts with this statement:
I just finished reading Sherene H. Razack’s [book]. And I gotta say, it blew me onto my ass. 
...She uses plenty of theory and excellent cross-racial examples to illustrate that what’s currently happening to Muslims in the West (racialization that results in “the expulsion of Muslims from the political community, a process that takes the form of stigmatization, surveillance, incarceration, torture, and bombing”) has happened to other groups before.
This looks to me like a very important book to aid in our understanding of the apparent widespread phenomenon here in the US to stigmatize Muslims. I was made more aware of this dangerous trend from a recent trip to a rural area in central Washington state--Methow Valley. I picked up the small local newspaper in that area and read one hate filled letter to the editor regarding Muslims and a featured opinion piece that targeted Muslims by a local writer.