As we know, “minority” does not necessarily mean “small” in reference to size. In fact, many minority groups, such as women, African-Americans, working class, Muslims, etc. as are actually quite large, sometimes very close in size to their perspective majority figure or group.
Criminalization of a minority group consists of making that groups’ activities illegal and restricting their access to resources. Criminalization itself typically fits into one of two models; The Conflict Model and The Consensus Model. Created by Karl Marx, The Conflict model is when the elites, or the majority groups, criminalize the acts of the powerless, or the minority groups. The research I have done for this paper falls under the concepts of this …show more content…
Without surprise, none were found to have any terrorist connections. In 2006, the US government passed the Military Commissions Act, which allowed the indefinite imprisonment of anyone who supposedly donated money to a charity that turns up on a list of ‘terrorist organizations.’ The government saw Muslim-Americans’ negative attitudes toward the ‘War on Terrorism’ as acts of terror, in which the Military Commissions Act allowed these people to be held as well (Curtis 2009). As many of us are aware, many Muslims are excessively checked in airport security lines. In 2005, the DOT received 111 complaints from Muslim airline passengers who were required to undergo a full-body search based solely on their appearance. Out of these people, 31 complained they were forbidden from entering the airplane due to racial and ethnic profiling, with no real evidence suspecting them of terrorist intentions (Peek …show more content…
“In times of National crisis, the US Government has a consistent history of responding by incarcerating, and in many cases removing, large numbers of foreign nationals or groups that are seen as ‘foreign’ based in their national, racial, ethnic, or religious actions” (Chebel & Reich 2008). In 2002, the government implemented the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, or NSEERS, to try to limit the number of Muslim immigrants entering and/or exiting the United States. In Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans after 9/11, author Lori Peek tells us of an incident in which over 700 Muslim men were arrested after waiting in line to register under the new NSEERS, because they were suspected of registering for the sole purpose of terrorizing the United States once again. As expected, none were found guilty of any such crime (Peek