Youth and the War on Terror

On the 18th anniversary of American's invasion of Afghanistan, this week’s review unpacks how young people belonging to the communities targeted during the War on Terror remained politically active

Posted on October 7, 2019 in Reviews of the Month

The 9/11 generation : youth, rights, and solidarity in the war on terror

Maira, Sunaina Marr. New York University, 2016
316p bibl index afp, 9781479817696 $89.00, 9781479880515 $28.00, 9781479866069

Maira’s The 9/11 Generation is a serious call for action for those interested in the well-being of one segment of the nation’s young adults, their allies, and those who are concerned about the path that the U.S. government has chosen to follow in the world. Deftly excavating the myriad contributors to the challenging lives of this generation, Maira charts the way in an area of study that has received little attention, though the consequences for a new generation of adults are potentially grave. Thirty-nine college-aged, mostly female young adults of South Asian, Arab, and Afghan heritages, along with approximately twenty activists, religious leaders, and youth organizers living in the greater San Jose and Fremont/Hayward areas in California, were interviewed about growing up after 9/11. One of the most salient points made is that Muslim organizations pushed communities to learn about civic integration and political participation as a part of citizenship in the liberal democratic project of America while mounting a campaign of surveillance, detention, and otherwise undemocratic processes against the young people growing up since 9/11. This text begins an important inquiry into what America has become. A must read.

Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.
Reviewer: A. B. Al-Deen, DePaul University
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Sociology
Choice Issue: Feb 2017

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