Being Muslim and American: South Asian Muslim youth and the war on terror
IN THIS CHAPTER, we consider some of the responses of Muslim youth growing up in the United States amidst the atmosphere of suspicion associated with the war on terror. We focus on youth from middle class families of South Asian background living in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, an area that has drawn many professional immigrants and their families to the hightechnology companies associated with the Research Triangle Park. At the time of this research, these youth were in their late teens and early twenties. At the time of the September 11 attacks, they were in their early and mid-teens, and in the midst of navigating the social, familial, and identity-related challenges that are a central aspect of growing up in the United States. Given the class of these youth as the children of professionals in middle America, we are concerned with how they have perceived and experienced the changing discourse surrounding Islam and Muslims since 9/11 and how they see it affecting their identities. Copyright © 2008 by Russell Sage Foundation.