By attributing exclusively religious motivations to al-Qaeda’s acts of terrorism, even while disassociating these motivations from the “mainstream Islam,” the state, which in a democratic society is charged with the protection and representation of its citizens, found a way in which it could increase its control over its citizens and erode their right to due process in the name of their own protection. Once the state, and more specifically the executive branch, are given such powers, they do not relinquish them easily.

QUESTION: What specific due-process erosions does the author document? Worth tracing the evidence behind this claim. XREF: Connects to securitization theory and Agamben's work on the state of exception.

Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ Th…, loc. 265