The logic underlying these cases is that Muslims are naturally “predisposed” to commit violent acts and should therefore be put away. Downs explains that “to prove predisposition, the government claims that routine, normal behavior of the defendants––dress, religious observances, Islamic financial transactions, literature, etc.––indicates a 'predisposition' to commit terrorism, based on the false stereotype that all Muslims are predisposed to commit terrorism. If they are sufficiently 'Muslim,' they are sufficiently 'predisposed.'”

DEFINE: Discloses how 'predisposition' functions as a legal standard in these cases, where ordinary religious practice becomes criminalized evidence.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 463