These words were very painful, but they were indisputable. Like the old saying goes, nothing hurts more than the truth. The broader Muslim American population, with the exception of the black Muslim community and other discrete groups, was not part of the progressive movement until it was targeted. But a sea change began within Muslim America, particularly among the generation that endured the rampant Islamophobia that arose after 9/11. Many Muslim individuals in Arab and South Asian American communities became more visible, involved, and integral in progressive circles and causes for racial justice.

XREF: Connects to broader histories of how targeting and marginalization galvanize political consciousness and organizing, similar to other civil rights movements.

Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Unde…, loc. 478