Chapter Title: Shifting Racial Terrain for Muslim Americans: The Impact of Racialized Surveillance

Student’s Name: Tutor: Class: Date: Critical Analysis and Assessment The work of Saher Selod on “Shifting Racial Terrain for Muslim Americans: The Impact of Racialized Surveillance" explores the multifaceted and emerging context of racialized surveillance that Muslim Americans encounter in the context of post-29/11 America. The exploration aims to deconstruct the chapter by delving into the author's key arguments, the socio-political context it addresses, the theoretical structures it utilizes, and its implications for the ethics of surveillance and racial profiling. Key Arguments The author's primary argument in the chapter is that Muslim Americans have been constructed as a racialized "suspect community" through surveillance practices that are ingrained in and preserved by racial stereotypes. Selod argues that such practices are not just reactive actions to security threats but are entrenched in a larger historical setting of racialization and discrimination (Selod, 127). Moreover, regardless of socioeconomic success, Asians and South Asians in the U.S. encounter significant discrimination. This comprises social exclusion, racial profiling, and hate crimes, which preserve their status as prolonged foreigners. Such assumption that they are "whitening" and hence face minimal racism is challenged by the determined denial of their status as authentic Americans. The chapter underscores the precarious nature of the “honorary white” position for many racialized ethnic groups. Regardless of some socioeconomic mobility, such groups are not perceived as real Americans and are mostly excluded from full citizenship privileges. Selod states that “The status of honorary whites is fragile for many racialized ethnic groups who experience some socioeconomic mobility yet also social exclusion because they are not treated or seen as real Americans" (Selod, 127). For instance, the position of Muslims in the racial hierarchy is multifaceted because of their diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Their racial hierarchy is not static because it shits based on social and political contexts. Based on the author, post-9/11, the visibility of Arabs as minorities intensified, and they were increasingly denied privileges, primarily related to their racial classification as white. The period has observed Muslims being viewed and treated as possible threats to national security, exacerbating their marginalization. Selod (128) states that “For Muslim Americans living in a society that is engaged in a War on Terror, not only is their status as Americans questioned; it is under attack." Moreover, Muslim racialization has become institutionalized by the state and strengthened by private residents and Muslims themselves. Such institutionalization is the cause of increased surveillance and discrimination, further entrenching the racialized identity of Muslim Americans. Selod (130) states that "the racialization of a Muslim identity became institutionalized by the state and was maintained by private citizens and Muslims th...