Islamophobia goes back decades, before 9/11, a new book argues

(RNS) — When journalist Rozina Ali set about telling the story of the rise of Islamophobia in the U.S., she decided to take an unusual approach. In her new book, “Seasons of Fury: Four Families and the Rise of Islamophobia in America,” the award-winning New York Times Magazine writer focuses on profiling four Muslim families of various ethnicities and political views, all of whom experienced suspicion and prejudice.

“Seasons of Fury” follows Abdeen Jabara, a prominent Arab American lawyer and pro-Palestine activist who, in the 1970s, exposed a massive spying program against Arab Americans, including himself. She also tells the complex story of Matin Siraj, who pled guilty to conspiring to plant bombs at a New York subway station. And there is Ali Chaudry, elected in 2004 as the mayor of a small town in New Jersey, who later discovers the limits of acceptance when he tries to open a mosque. And, the book tells the story of a Palestinian-American family (whom she gives the last name pseudonym, Omar) who is harassed by neighbors for two decades.

“One of the most important things for me was to make Muslims in the U.S. multidimensional,” said Ali, noting that since the 9/11…