An unflinching examination of the state violence that created and indelibly tied together the fates of homegrown radical and moderate Muslims in the post-9/11 era

In the shadow of 9/11, Canada saw the emergence of the figure of the homegrown radical Muslim, raising fears and worries about the possibility of an enemy capable of harming and destabilizing the nation. In contrast stood the moderate Muslim, who represented the possibility of unity despite religious and racial differences.

Homegrown Radicals brings these two figures together in uneasy tension, exploring the radicalization of three Muslim students from the Canadian Prairies and tracing North American Muslims’ general sense of affective injury over the loss of Muslim life in military campaigns overseas.

Lifting the veil from the experiences of Canadian Muslims during the War on Terror, this book examines the violence that produced a new discourse of jihad, legitimated state surveillance, and sanctioned Islamophobia. It is an effort to understand the forms of empathy and solidarity that North American Muslims had to offer in creating a different and kinder world—if only the state had listened.