Backlash 9/11: Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans Respond

Check out this new book Backlash 9/11: Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans Respond by Anny Bakalian and Mehdi Bozorgmehr (University of California Press, 2009)

I'm actually taking a class at the City College with Professor Bozorgmehr and he actually did a presentation in class about the book. One of the novel aspects of the book he said is that it deals with a positive development amidst the backlash on Muslim and Middle Eastern Americans - mobilization.

This is a passage from the book:

"Given the enormity of the 9/11 backlash, one would assume that the targeted populations would go into hiding. Instead, Middle Eastern and Muslim American advocacy organizations representing these populations urged their constituents to claim their rights as Americans, to raise their voices, and to fight back against hate crimes, bias incidents, prejudice and discrimination, and governmental abuses of power. They responded in typical American fashion-through political activism, and legal challenges. Their ultimate goal was civic engagement and political integration into the mainstream of American society. However, the relatively rapid mobilization of the affected groups was unusual from a historical perspective..." (p. 2)