A review by itsaba
Coming of Age in the War on Terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah

informative reflective

This book looks at the experience of students, scattered across Sydney, who have grown up in the post 9/11 climate. Abdul-Fatteh strikes a good balance in allowing space for the perspective and insights of the young people she interviewed, while complimenting this with the broader political and cultural setting within Australia. 

 

I think it's important to note that while Abdul-Fatteh acknowledges that a Muslim identity is diverse in its lived experience, her main focus is on the impact and perspectives of Arab Muslims. She discusses Australia's countering violent extremism policy which aims to target terrorist suspects and "pre-suspects" - demonstrating that this conflates all Muslims into a suspect terrorist grouping. She also touches on how Australia's role in the war on terror is to reinforce itself as a nation with its existing hierarchies, and therefore anti-radicalisation laws are discriminately applied for this self-preservation (she highlights how the BDS movement and other forms of legitimate, peaceful protest are penalised within this framework). 

 

The book speaks not only on Islamophobia, but racism and colonialism more broadly - how these systems are reinforced through surveillance, the media, our polices and education, and the specific impact this has on young people’s identities and freedom of speech. 

 

I often felt that it could be condensed and that it was quite repetitive, but this might just be because of my familiarity with the context, and other readers might benefit from the detail. Otherwise, it’s an important and relevant book that I'd recommend to anyone within the country.