Democracy and Homeland Security: Strategies, Controversies, and Impact

Part I. Papers Presented in Panels 1–4

9/11 Detainees and Deportees: Are They Transforming Images of the United States?

Irum Shiekh, University of California, Berkeley

Right after 9/11 there was a short span of time when almost the entire world felt sorry for the tragic loss of the United States. However, that widespread empathy subsided very quickly and anti-American sentiment has grown to unprecedented levels, specifically among the Muslim populations. The Pew Research Center survey in 2003 noted: "Negative views of the U.S. among Muslims, which had been largely limited to countries in the Middle East, have spread to Muslim populations in Indonesia and Nigeria. Since last summer, favorable ratings for the U.S. have fallen from 61% to 15% in Indonesia and from 71% to 38% among Muslims in Nigeria."¹ Several recent reports have identified that the U.S. war on terrorism and the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq are the primary reasons for this growing aversion since 9/11.² The following discussion explores the role of U.S. 9/11 detention and deportation policies in escalating this anti-American sentiment.

Since September 11, more than six thousand individuals have been deported to the twenty-four Muslim countries that became subject to the Special Registration Requirements by the end of 2002.³ The number of deportees for these countries doubled consecutively for the fiscal years 2002 (2,214) and 2003 (2,305) from the fiscal year 2001 (1,119).⁴ Additional deportations are in progress. Local newspapers in Pakistan, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries are publishing stories based on interviews with detainees and deportees that explain how they became victims of discriminatory U.S. immigration policies after 9/11. These mass deportations are substantiating fears that the United States has become blindly hostile to Islam and Muslims.

Historically, the majority of young people in developing countries have been fascinated by and attracted to images of the United States as the leading economic superpower. Before 9/11, there was some anti-American sentiment primarily due to U.S. policies in the Middle East;⁵ however, it was paralleled by a desire to immigrate to the United States. The highly publicized availability of technological, scientific, and educational opportunities has stirred the hearts of many literate, middle-class young people who, despite their talents and education, felt underemployed due to a lack of socioeconomic opportunities in their home countries. On visits to their countries of origin, immigrants to the United States painted the picture of a country where anything was possible. Seeing technological devices from high-speed laptop computers and digital cameras to sound equipment—in the hands of the man who once lived in the old neighborhood—confirmed for many that this dreamland called America was real and within reach.

While noting fascination with the economic opportunities available in the United States during my interviews with deportees, their family members, and members of their larger community, I also observed a new sense of resentment combined with fear. I noted that a growing number of individuals are reluctant to migrate to the United States. This hesitation is most obvious among the people who were more familiar with the recent detentions and deportations. For example, one of my uncles is a high-profile retired Pakistani diplomat. During an informal conversation, I asked him to visit the University of California at Berkeley to give a talk about the U.S./Pakistan relationship. He looked at me, smiled, and said, "No. I don't want to be finger-printed." Similarly, Lamya Tawfik, a writer and journalist in Cairo who wears hijab (head scarf) was searching for a Ph.D. program after finishing her master's in mass communication. Right after 9/11, she heard about INS discriminatory policies through her work with Islam On-Line.⁶ Now, she is not even looking at American universities. Before 9/11, the U.S. support for Israel was disturbing for her; however, she felt that the U.S. administration was under the influence of the Jewish lobby. After 9/11, the treatment of Muslims in the United States and the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq have left no hope for the United States, according to Tawfik. She has even stopped drinking Pepsi and Coca-Cola to express her dismay with U.S. foreign and internal policies dealing with Muslims.⁷ Some other young individuals like Tawfik are reluctant to move to the United States and are boycotting American products, such as McDonald’s, again in protest of U.S. policies.

Beyond these individual encounters, I also observed that many Muslim American families have started to question their decision to settle in the United States. There is a small but significant out-migration trend, especially among individuals with families. During my visit to Pakistan in January 2003, I was told about many families moving back to Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi from New York and New Jersey. People with uncertain immigration status have been moving to other industrial countries. Many major newspapers reported an increase in Muslim migration to Canada in early 2003.⁸ Educational institutions in the United States have reported a decline in the enrollment of international students from Muslim countries. Meanwhile, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking countries have noted a significant increase in their enrollment of international students.⁹ It may be that the image of the United States is changing. Many immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries fear that their race, ethnicity, and religion may place them in humiliating and unpleasant situations. As a result, many of the individuals with money are choosing other industrialized countries for educational and investment purposes.

I suggest that the 9/11 detention and deportation policies will have an impact that is far reaching and beyond what analysts anticipate. In this chapter, I explore the nuances of the various emerging and evolving images of the United States among Muslim communities that have been affected by U.S. detention and deportation policies. I have interviewed more than fifty deportees, their friends and family members, and members of the larger community in Pakistan, Egypt, India, and Trinidad. The interviews intended to explore the following questions: (1) Have deportees' attitudes toward the United States changed since 9/11? (2) What do deportees tell friends and family about their experiences? (3) What are some of the emerging perceptions and responses of the general public toward the United States? and (4) What are some of the long-term impacts of the U.S. 9/11 detention and deportation policies?

PERCEPTIONS OF THE DEPORTEES TOWARD THE UNITED STATES

For me, America was the land of opportunity. I thought I was lucky to be in a liberal and democratic country. The dreamland and the land of opportunity became hell for me after September 11.¹⁰

During my interviews, an overwhelming majority of the deportees could not find a single justification for U.S. detention or deportation policies. One common question was why millions of undocumented non-Muslim immigrants living in the United States were not similarly affected. For the interviewees, U.S. 9/11 detention policies were discriminatory against Muslims specifically. Noting the method of racial profiling used for arrests of large numbers of Muslims on minor immigration charges, the humiliating modes of investigation, long detentions after arrests, attitudes of judges, and abusive treatment by local enforcement officers, they were convinced that Muslims were scapegoated for the World Trade Center attacks. In their view, justice is not possible in the current political climate.

Umar Mohammad, a 31-year-old Egyptian who was one of the many men arrested in October 2001 from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested for overstaying his visa. After undergoing a brief interview by an FBI agent at the Federal Plaza in Manhattan, Umar and his friends were transported to the Administrative Maximum Special Housing Unit of Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. After being placed in solitary confinement in the most restrictive type of Special Housing Unit, Umar and other detainees "were locked down 23 hours a day, were placed in four-man holds during movement, had restricted phone call and visitation privileges, and his ability to obtain and communicate with legal counsel was constrained" at the pretrial stage.¹¹ Umar was denied bail due to national security and flight risk concerns. Even though the judge granted him a deportation order to Egypt in January 2002, he was deported in May 2002, much later than the required ninety-day removal period. Since the airline held onto Umar's travel documents during his deportation flight, the local police in Amsterdam placed him in an airport jail during his stay over there. Upon his arrival in Egypt, local authorities questioned him and kept him overnight in detention. After his release, local Egyptian authorities summoned and questioned him again at the beginning of 2003.¹²

I met Umar in Alexandria in April 2003. During the last year, Umar married. He is now thinking about starting a family. Although Umar used to teach at a local university, he is currently managing a food import/export business. He indicated that he could not continue with his career as an educator since he has had to rethink and figure out the meaning of democracy, freedom, justice, and equality. He reflected:

I don't know what I am going to tell my students if they ask me what I think about the United States. . . . Before 9/11, I used to be a big believer in the American life-style, democracy, freedom, and human rights. . . . But after what happened, [my thoughts have] totally changed. I feel what they used to sell us about human rights, about freedom, about democracy, it was all crap. . . . They were only waiting for an excuse to violate human rights; waiting for an excuse to change from democracy to autocracy; just waiting for an excuse. . . . I don't believe in the United States anymore as a role model of how human beings should live. Because if you can discriminate between people based on religion or color, . . . [y]ou are another dictatorship, you are another Rwanda . . . Yugoslavia . . . whatever . . . another one of those countries. The way I look at things has totally changed.¹³

Along with Umar, most of the deportees that I talked to had a different impression about the U.S. justice system after their experience in U.S. jails. Mohammad Azmath, a man arrested on September 12, 2001, was eventually charged with credit card fraud. He was placed in solitary confinement for more than nine months at MDC. During his interview, he stated that he was under the impression that the American justice system was the best in terms of respect for human and legal rights. But after his experience at MDC, he believes that there are two different sides to the American justice system—one for the inside and one for the outside. Inside jail, enforcement officials violate all human rights and values. They treat human beings worse than animals by subjecting them to mental and physical torture. To the outside world, they preach human rights. The United States undertakes wars to spread democracy but where is the democracy in the United States?¹⁴ Similarly, for Ahmad and Walid, two other deportees from Egypt, the U.S. justice system is no better than the autocratic system of Egypt. There is no democracy, equality, and human rights, especially for Muslims after 9/11.¹⁵

In addition, the immediate family members of the deportees have a new perspective on the United States. For example, Tasleem, the wife of Azmath Mohammed, of Hyderabad, India, had a positive view of the United States. After her husband's abusive detention for months, that positive image was tarnished.¹⁶ For Uzma Naheed, wife of another 9/11 deportee, Ansar Mahmood, America stood for freedom and diversity. She was happily living in her suburban home in Bayonne, New Jersey. After 9/11, her husband's confinement in a high-security jail for an expired visa and the unresponsiveness of the justice system convinced her that the America that she knew has changed. She recalled several incidents when the general American public saw her differently because of her Pakistani clothing. One day, she was standing outside her house and the kids walking on the street pointed to her and the house and said, "They did it."¹⁷

Despite these painful experiences, many of the deportees are interested in returning to the United States. The unavailability of jobs in their home countries is one of the primary reasons. Moreover, some are accustomed to American life and feel alienated in homelands that they have not seen for decades. My conversation with one of the deportees reflects ambiguous sentiments toward the United States. He harbors both desire and fear, which leads to a sense of hesitation:

I am scared to go there again regardless of I want to go there or not. Honestly, I want to go there again because of my money and company. Whatever I have is still over there. I can't get it here, so I need to go there to get it. To be honest with you, I want to live over there because I have a better life than what I have over here. But the question is that I am really scared. . . . Even my family, they don't want me to go there again, regardless of I have lot of things or not. They don't want me! They tell me, go to another country. Personally, I am afraid that I will be walking in the street and some [enforcement] guy would stop me and ask me to see my wallet . . . and within one minute or the other, I would find myself in a big shit hole because my name is Ahmad and I am a Muslim guy . . . this is what makes [me] scared. I don't feel safe as long as I am a Muslim, Arab and live between the American people anymore. I love the country, I love the opportunities . . . but I am scared.¹⁸

SHARING INFORMATION WITH THE LARGER COMMUNITIES

Many of the deportees feel uncomfortable and ashamed in admitting that the American government has been discriminatory toward them. Most of the deportees I talked to had told a limited number of people about their detention experiences. Some had told their close family members but not the entire community. One told his extended family that he was on vacation and would be returning to the United States soon.¹⁹ Ahmad Aly, another deportee in Alexandria, Egypt, had called his friends from the jail during his ten months of detention and told them that he was calling from his Brooklyn apartment.²⁰ Some specified the reasons for not being able to talk about what happened to them: "I talked to only those people who already know that I have been deported. . . . I did not feel comfortable in telling people that I was deported or in jail. I don't think that it feels good. People over here don't understand. They would be surprised of my detention story."²¹

Deportees' inclination to remain silent about their detentions is not surprising. Jailed for minor immigration violations, stigmatized as criminals, dispersed in more than thirty countries after deportation, disconnected from each other, fearful of future prosecution, unable to trust others, and powerless to explain their perspective to the larger community, they feel guilty and alienated. The U.S. government capitalized on the notion that all 9/11 detainees were "guilty" of immigration or criminal violations. At congressional hearings, public forums, and press conferences, Department of Justice officials stressed the "illegal" status of immigrants and insisted that the government acted properly. For example, in response to the Office of Inspector General report about September 11 detainees, which confirmed that immigration detainees were abused and wrongfully connected with 9/11 investigations, Barbara Comstock, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, noted: "We make no apologies for finding every legal way possible to protect the American public from further terrorist attacks."²² Many of the politicians also claimed that this is about "sacrifices" necessary for national security. Undocumented immigrants without voting power could not garner sympathy or support from politicians and became scapegoats in the government's national security discourse.

EMERGING RESPONSES AND IMAGES OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Even though most of the deportees are reluctant to share intimate details about their cases with the general public, some do talk openly and even suggest that their fellow citizens should not migrate to the United States. The voices of these individuals are heard and their message goes far. For example, Jamal Shabaz, a national football coach in Trinidad who spent months in a Special Housing Unit of the Federal Detention Center in Florida for a technical immigration violation after 9/11, indicated that since he returned to Trinidad, he has given several talks to fellow Muslims at conferences and gatherings. His advice to other Muslims is "Don't go to the U.S." He stated he would not send his son to the United States, at least not now. He will reconsider after the United States becomes Muslim friendly.²³ Another deportee in Pakistan said that he would pray in the ears of his son so that he won't think about going to the United States.²⁴ One deportee in Egypt indicated that his advice to a fellow young man who may be thinking about going to the United States is to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. For him, disadvantages outweigh advantages unless a new administration overturns "all these racist emergency laws and regulations that came out after 9/11."²⁵ Azhar Bahrai, a deportee in Pakistan, said that his advice to fellow Pakistanis in the United States is "Come back to your homeland." He felt that the charm of America had disappeared and people are now thinking about going to other parts of the world.²⁶ Mohammad Maddy, another deportee in Egypt, picked me up from the airport in April 2003. On the way to the hotel, he told the taxi driver about his detention in New York. The same evening, he repeated his story to another man that he met for the first time in the street. He has appeared at several local and international television stations since he was deported to Egypt. For him, it is important to talk because the truth about the United States has to come out.²⁷

Local and international newspapers are spreading the word that the United States is detaining and deporting Muslim males. In particular, the image of hundreds of deportees returning home in handcuffs on chartered flights to Pakistan made a big impression.²⁸ On June 29, 2002, after the first chartered plane arrived in Islamabad, BBC headlines read, "Pakistanis Tell of U.S. Prison Horror." Including interviews of deportees who touched their foreheads to the ground as soon as they landed and chanted slogans, the article stated, "Pakistanis repatriated . . . have suffered months of 'degradation' and 'abuse' in prisons across the United States."²⁹ The Internet edition of Jung, a local newspaper in Karachi, reported, "PTI leader slates U.S. for deporting Pakistanis in fetters."³⁰ While the desire for better economic opportunities still prevails, reading these stories has caused deportees, friends, family members, and the general public to reevaluate their perceptions about the United States and to reassess their thoughts about migrating to the United States.

For example, in Cairo, Wael Kishk's sister, a student in child psychology, was planning to pursue her Ph.D. in the United States before 9/11. After listening to the details of her brother's year-long detention in solitary confinement at MDC and Passaic County jail, she has changed her mind. Currently, she is looking for a program in England.³¹ Similarly, Yusuf Ahmed's parents no longer have any desire to visit the United States. Before Yusuf's detention in a high-security jail for a minor immigration violation, they used to visit him on a yearly basis. Yusuf's sister, who works in England, used to visit her American friend in the United States before 9/11. Now she avoids the United States. Her friend visits her either in England or in Egypt.³²

Along with the family members of deportees, potential visitors to the United States are hesitant. In Cairo, Balal Mohammad, a local pharmacist and journalist in his 30s, heard about U.S. detention policies through some of his Egyptian friends who underwent humiliating searches at American airports during travels. Before 9/11, Balal was interested in coming to the United States for pleasure. Now after "seeing the real colors of the U.S.," he is not interested. For him reliance on racial profiling has brought the United States down to just another third-world country after 9/11. He questioned, "What is the use of intelligence technology, if the U.S. is going to rely on racial profiling?"³³

In another case, Ibrahim, a 25-year-old R&B soul musician in Trinidad, wants to migrate to New Jersey to work professionally with the "real R&B" scene. His father, a marketing manager for a local oil company, experienced a long and embarrassing interrogation on one of his latest business trips to the United States. Ibrahim felt that his father's Muslim looks were the determining factor since he had been to the United States several times before for business. For the advancement of his music, Ibrahim wants to go to the United States, but he wonders about the harassment he may experience because of his name. He thinks that he can pass for black or Latino according to how he dresses, so he plans to dress that way in hopes that airport security might not give him such a hard time.³⁴

Beyond fear of government authorities, there is a certain fear of the American public among potential immigrants and visitors. Ahmad Said, a Claymation artist from Egypt who was awarded a residency in an art studio in Vermont, indicated that he is "a little afraid" to go the United States because he might experience harassment for being the "wrong" color, religion, or ethnicity. His fear is based on experiences with Americans that he meets on a daily basis in Internet chat rooms. As soon as he mentions that he is from Egypt or is a Muslim in the chat room, some American is sure to insult him about camels, deserts, or terrorism. Before 9/11, these kinds of attacks were rare. He is afraid to experience similar abuse after he arrives in the United States.³⁵

Similar fears are diverting international students to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other English- speaking countries instead of the United States for higher education. Over the last two years, many institutions reported a decline in the number of international students coming to the United States, especially from the Muslim world. In 2002, the Arab American Institute documented a decline in the enrollment of students from the Middle East.³⁶ The Institute of International Education's fall 2003 online survey reported "significant drops in new admissions from China (36% of the respondents), Saudi Arabia (29.2%), Pakistan (27.7%), the United Arab Emirates (22.5%), and Egypt (15.9%)."³⁷ The Chronicle of Higher Education reported similar trends over the last two years with article headings such as "Foreign-Student Enrollment Stagnates" and "Security at Home Creates Insecurity Abroad."³⁸

Although stringent U.S. visa requirements and the sluggish global economy contribute to this enrollment drop, Peter D. Syverson, Vice President for Research and Information Services for the Council of Graduate Schools, states that "the thinking abroad is that the U.S. is not as welcoming."³⁹ My telephone conversation with a representative from AMIDEAST in Washington, a Middle Eastern educational organization, confirms that students are choosing non-American universities because they are afraid of having to undergo humiliating searches, investigations, or procedures at U.S. airports. Stories of Muslim students undergoing detentions or lengthy interrogations for minor technical immigration matters discourage potential students from even applying to the universities in the United States. Personal encounters and news stories have persuaded potential students that the United States is a less than welcoming place for young Muslim males.⁴⁰ Nelly El Zayat, a senior educational advisor with AMIDEAST in Cairo, reconfirmed similar trends and added that stringent U.S. security requirements are deterring students from even applying to U.S. universities. International students who generally come from the upper middle class have the flexibility to move around and therefore prefer to deal with Canadian or British embassies, where they find red carpet treatment. She indicated that all female students who practice hijab are concerned about potential harassment in the United States.⁴¹

This enrollment decline is a significant issue for American universities since foreign students are a large source of income. Open Doors 2003 reported that international students contribute nearly 12 billion dollars to the U.S. economy in money spent on tuition, living expenses, and related costs. Department of Commerce data describes U.S. higher education as the country's fifth largest service export sector.⁴² Similarly, a highly educated immigrant population has been providing skilled labor needed for U.S. technology, and "brain drain" migration has been credited for U.S. technological advancement. U.S. policymakers recognize the importance of this revenue and supply of skilled labor. A year after 9/11 the State Department sent delegates to the Middle East trying to convince potential students that the United States welcomes them.⁴³ However, the personal stories of friends, relatives, and countrymen prevail over the assurances made by some distant bureaucrats.

LONG-TERM IMPACTS OF SENDING DEPORTEES

In Pakistan, Egypt, India, and Trinidad, I met deportees who had been ambitious and willing workers in the United States. Whether they worked as high-tech engineers, entrepreneurs, taxi drivers, or gas station operators, America provided employment and advancement opportunities that their home country could not. They took advantage of those opportunities and worked ten to sixteen hours per day. Immigrants' remittance strengthened the economies of their home countries and provided food, shelter, and amenities to immediate and extended families. However, their hard work not only benefited them but also made significant contributions to the U.S. economy. For example, the National Immigration Forum stated that immigrant workers are essential for the expanding U.S. economy. Immigrants add about $10 billion each year to the U.S. economy.⁴⁴

These immigrants were the real ambassadors of the United States. For decades, they returned home from the United States with stories about a land of opportunity and freedom, and now they are returning with the personal accounts of their horrific and painful experiences. The worst thing is that they are angry at the United States for discriminatory immigration policies, snatching and destroying businesses and assets, and undermining their long years of labor. Even though most of the deportees are reluctant to talk about their detention/deportation experiences openly, they have talked to their immediate family members and friends. These families and close friends are slowly finding ways to communicate to the larger communities. Local and international newspapers are also publishing stories about the United States targeting Muslim populations. The very presence of these deportees in their homelands affirms fears that the United States is against the Muslim world as a whole and is finding ways to get rid of Muslims. Resentment and anger could have a far-reaching impact on the safety of the United States and its people. Some of the people that I interviewed highlighted the national security concerns:

One hundred and three deportees arrived here today. People may have been deported to other parts of the world also, but we feel that Pakistan is the target. There were so many Mexicans over there. They were also unauthorized and illegal. There were people of other nationalities also. But particularly they targeted people of Pakistani nationality or Arabs or Muslims. The response of this targeting is not going to be good. The 103 persons who are here, each of them have 103 families. They are impacted. They have a separate reaction. This will lead to develop anti-American feelings . . . in some ways. These [sentiments] already exist.⁴⁵

The way it impacted my children is really bothering me. . . . They think in a different way now. . . . They want to know who is a terrorist. Why people become terrorists? Tomorrow, if they become terrorists who is going to be responsible for that?⁴⁶

Bush just wanted to show everyone that I am working hard. Look at this, I rounded up 1000 potential terrorists that would make Americans feel safer. . . . I feel less safe, much less safe. . . . [T]hese guys are obviously not terrorists at this point . . . but they are going back to their home countries, or have gone back to their own home countries, hating our guts for what we did to them. So they can potentially become terrorists because they are so furious to the United States. That is not smart to me.⁴⁷

As mentioned earlier, hostility toward the United States is on the rise. Public diplomacy groups have found that since 9/11 attitudes toward the United States "have become a central national security concern."⁴⁸ The Department of Homeland Security Web site recognizes that its primary mission is to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States. Over the last year, it has spent nearly $40 billion to secure borders and improve coordination of intelligence and information technology.⁴⁹ Securing borders and training staff are important strategies to prevent future attacks; however, by arresting or throwing hardworking individuals out of the country and increasing hostility toward the United States, the very mission of the Department of Homeland Security is undermined and could very well backfire. The United States may just be providing more angry bodies to the recruiting agents of terrorist organizations. By increasing hostility, the U.S. 9/11 immigration policies have made America more vulnerable to additional terrorist attacks.

The Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World's recent report stated that "transformed public diplomacy can make America safe."⁵⁰ The Center for the Study of the Presidency also made suggestions to strengthen U.S./Muslim communications.⁵¹ These suggestions must be taken seriously to achieve a comprehensive and long-term national security plan. Along with preventing terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security must spend resources in understanding and eradicating the root causes of terrorism.

ENDNOTES

1. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, Views of a Changing World 2003: War with Iraq Further Divides Global Publics (Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, June 3, 2003).

2. Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, Changing Minds, Winning Peace: A New Strategic Direction for U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim World (Washington, D.C.: October 1, 2003); Phyllis d'Hoop, ed., An Initiative: Strengthening U.S.-Muslim Communications (Washington, D.C.: Center for the Study of the Presidency, July 2003); and James Zogby, What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs, and Concerns (Washington, D.C: Arab Thought Foundation, 2002).

3. These countries are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. As of December 2, 2003, such registration was no longer required.

4. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Statistics, Removals by Nationality (Including Expedited Removals) Fiscal Years 2001–2004 (Washington, D.C., February 2004).

5. d'Hoop, Strengthening U.S.-Muslim Communications, 4.

6. Islam Online is one of the largest Web sites catering to Muslims in the United States.

7. Lamya Tawfik, interview by Irum Shiekh, written notes, April 12, 2004.

8. Abdus Sattar Ghazali, "Pakistanis' Exodus to Canada Accelerates," Dawn, March 16, 2003, http://www.dawn.com/2003/03/17/top5.htm; and Margaret Philip, "Pakistanis Flocking to Canada," Globe and Mail (March 15, 2003).

9. Arab American Institute, Delays Caused by New Visa Regulations Are Behind Drop in Number of Arab Students in the United States (Washington, D.C.: Arab American Institute, 2002); and Institute of International Education, Fall 2003 Survey Report on International Educational Exchange: IIENetwork Online Survey Summary of Results, survey conducted October 1–17, 2003 (New York: Institute of International Education, November 17, 2003), http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=36558.

10. Ayub Khan, personal written statement to whomever it may concern, Hyderabad, India, October 2003.

11. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, The September 11 Detainees: A Review of the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges in Connection with the Investigation of the September 11 Attacks (Washington, D.C., April 2003), 17.

12. Umar Mohammad, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording, Alexandria, Egypt, April 2003.

13. Ibid.

14. Mohammed Jaweed Azmath, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording translated from Urdu, Hyderabad, India, March 2003.

15. Ahmad Khalifa, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording, Alexandria, Egypt, April 2003; and Walid [last name withheld], interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording, Alexandria, Egypt, April 2003.

16. Tasleem Mohammad, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording translated from Urdu, Hyderabad, India, March 2003.

17. Uzma Naheed, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording translated from Urdu, Lahore, Pakistan, March 2003.

18. Raheem Mohammad [pseudonym], interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording, Alexandria, Egypt, April 2003.

19. Karni Ahmed [pseudonym], interview by Irum Shiekh, written notes, Karachi, Pakistan, April 2003.

20. Ahmad Aly, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording, Alexandria, Egypt, April 2003.

21. Aisha Mohammad, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording translated from Urdu, Gujrat, Pakistan, February 2003.

22. Eric Lichtblau, "U.S. Report Faults the Roundup of Illegal Immigrants after 9/11," New York Times (June 3, 2003).

23. Jamal Shabaz, interview by Irum Shiekh, written notes, St. Augustine, Trinidad, January 2004.

24. Ahmar [last name withheld], interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording translated from Urdu, Lahore, Pakistan, March 2003.

25. Yusuf Ahmed [pseudonym], e-mail message to author, March 2004.

26. Azhar Bahari, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording translated from Urdu, Islamabad, Pakistan, March 2003.

27. Mohammad Maddy, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording, Cairo, Egypt, April 2003.

28. Imran Ali, telephone conversation with author, Pakistani consulate, Washington, D.C., July 2003. Since 9/11, five chartered flights have been used to deport more than one thousand Pakistanis.

29. Owais Tohid, "Pakistanis Tell of U.S. Prison Horror," BBC, June 29, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2074857.stm.

30. The News International, PTI Leader Slates U.S. for Deporting Pakistanis in Fetters (Internet Edition), July 1, 2002, retrieved March 22, 2004, http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2002-daily/01-07-2002/metro/k11.htm.

31. Wael Kishk, interview by Irum Shiekh, written notes, Cairo, Egypt, April 2004.

32. Yusuf Ahmed, e-mail message to author, March 2004.

33. Balal Mohammad [pseudonym], interview by Irum Shiekh, written notes, Cairo, Egypt, April 12, 2004.

34. Ibrahim [last name withheld], interview by Irum Shiekh, written notes, St. Augustine, Trinidad, January 2004.

35. Ahmad Said, online conversation with author, March 20, 2004.

36. Arab American Institute, Delays Caused by New Visa Regulations.

37. Institute of International Education, Fall 2003 Survey Report.

38. Michael Arnone, "Security at Home Creates Insecurity Abroad: With Fewer Foreign Students Applying to U.S. Colleges, Federal Visa Rules Get the Blame," Chronicle of Higher Education 50, no. 27 (2004); and Jennifer Jacobson, "Foreign-Student Enrollment Stagnates," Chronicle of Higher Education 50, no. 11 (2003).

39. Arnone, "Security at Home."

40. America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, telephone conversation with author, March 20, 2004.

41. Nelly El Zayat, interview by Irum Shiekh, written notes, Cairo, Egypt, April 2004.

42. Institute of International Education, Open Doors 2003: International Student Enrollment Growth Slows in 2002/2003, Large Gains from Leading Countries Offset Numerous Decreases (New York: Institute of International Education, November 3, 2003), http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=36523.

43. America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, telephone conversation with author.

44. National Immigration Forum, Immigrants and the Economy, retrieved April 13, 2004, http://www.immigrationforum.org/pubs/articles/economy2002.htm.

45. Ansar Mahmood Father, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording translated from Urdu, Karachi, Pakistan, March 2003.

46. Naheed, interview by Irum Shiekh.

47. Sandra Nichols, interview by Irum Shiekh, audiotape recording, New York, January 2003.

48. Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, Changing Minds, Winning Peace, 19.

49. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Mission (Washington, D.C., 2003), http://www.dhs.gov/. www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=10&content=3240.

50. Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, Changing Minds, Winning Peace, 17.

51. d'Hoop, Strengthening U.S.-Muslim Communications.