9/11 and the evolution of newspaper representations of incarcerated Muslims

Abstract

Prior research has examined public attitudes towards—and media portrayals of—Muslims in the United States following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Scholars, however, have yet to examine media portrayals of incarcerated Muslims in the era following the attacks. In this article, I analyze newspaper reports published before and after the 9/11 attacks to examine whether representations of incarcerated Muslims shifted following the attacks. Findings indicate that although terrorism and the war on terror, inmate radicalization, and the significance of Muslim chaplains are themes that emerged only in post-9/11 reports, there is also substantial overlap in the content of reports published before and after the attacks. These findings are interpreted by drawing on the minority threat perspective.