General Article ‘I’m not afraid of terrorism. I’m afraid of being accused of being a terrorist’: growing up Muslim a

Topic Selected: Terrorism Book Volume: 425

‘I’m not afraid of terrorism. I’m afraid of being accused of being a terrorist’: growing up Muslim after 9/11

Lukas Coch/AAP

Randa Abdel Fattah, Macquarie University

Those born after 2001 have only known a world “at war on terror”.

This means a generation growing up under fears and moral panics about Muslims and unparalleled security measures around their bodies and lives.

In my new book, Coming of Age in the War on Terror, I look at what this has meant for young Muslims in Australia as they navigate their political identities at school.

An impact on everyday life

In 2018 and 2019, I interviewed and held writing workshops with over 60 Muslim and non-Muslim high school students across Sydney who were born around the time of the September 11 terror attacks. We explored their fears, their levels of trust with peers and teachers and political expression in a post 9/11 world.

No matter how many Muslim students spoke to me about their typically adolescent hobbies and interests, almost e...

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