Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Professor Discusses Surveillance, Muslim Youth

Arshad Ali, Assistant Professor of Educational Research at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University, discussed the impact of police surveillance systems on Muslim youth in a talk titled, “Citizen Suspect: The Criminalization of Muslim Youth in Post 9-11 America.” The event, sponsored by the School of Foreign Service and the Price Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, was held Wednesday afternoon in the Intercultural Center.

Ali was introduced by Alwaweed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization Jonathan Brown. Ali focused in his talk on New York Police Department programs and how the figure of a Muslim has become a stereotypical target, leading to discussions on race, ethnicity and religion.

Relating to his research, Ali highlighted his perspective as an educator.

“I come into this as someone who studies education,” Ali said. “What I am particularly interested in is the how, the why and the way that people actually learn… I’m not just interested on what young people are saying but how they are learning about themselves. In New York City, how does surveillance affect the way that they relate to each other and most importantly, how does this affect political subjectivity?”

Ali then elaborated on how the police surveillance affects Muslims all over the country. “When we talk about surveillance and we talk about what is happening in people’s lives, this is the real context young Muslims, particularly in working class communities, are finding themselves,” Ali said.

“I think that is an important point to begin with. Talking about the bigger context, we know that the surveillance is real, it is not an exaggeration. There are many lawsuits at this point nationwide. We have to remember that just over a decade ago, legal immigrants of Muslim countries had to come in and prove that they were not terrorists to the state. What does that mean?”

Toward the close of the talk, Ali touched upon the issue of prejudice and the question of legal rights.

“People who are legally here in this country have to prove that they are not terrorists,” Ali said. “I think that we sometimes forget what this actually means. What rights do legal residents have? And what rights do Muslim American citizens have? They are obviously not equally distributed. Documents, which can be found online, categorize wearing Muslim religious attire as suspicious activity. These are documents that were produced by the FBI. This follows the idea of policing Muslim bodies in particularly restrictive forms.”

Ingrid Glitz (SFS ’18) said she was stunned by the talk.

“Undoubtedly, the question of terrorism is one of the national security concerns for the U.S.,” Glitz said. “I think the points brought to light by Dr. Ali are very relevant in the our reality today and it is very important to bring awareness to issues such as surveillance and how it affects Muslim youth today, which also includes American citizens who are Muslims.”

Cecilia Carvalho (MSB ’18) said she was happy to be able to have Ali speak at Georgetown.

“The issue of surveillance is one that is not very talked about, so I was quite surprised to see it being discussed here on campus,” Carvalho said. “I was very pleased with the talk by Dr. Ali, and I think that discussing this is an important step towards empowering youth, especially Muslim youth, and separating Islam from extremism and terrorism.”

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