Subject Positioning, Fear, and Insecurity in South Asian Muslim Communities in the War on Terror Context

Abstract

This paper focuses on the subject positioning of South Asian Muslim communities in Montreal in the sociopolitical context of the war on terror (WOT) in Canada after 9/11. Drawing upon community studies, the results highlight the ways in which the climate of fear and suspicion associated with heightened security and antiterrorism concerns shapes the lives of these respondents and how they respond to it in their local contexts. The increased external scrutiny these communities face is also associated with an internalization of fear, which becomes a self-regulating factor of how they view themselves, their relationships with members of their own communities, and their belonging within the larger society. © 2012 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.