In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

3 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Moral Exclusion in a “Nation of Immigrants” An American Paradox or Tradition? The structures, practices, and consequences of moral exclusion are at once political, social, psychological, and developmental. Susan Opotow writes that the practice of exclusion begins with a group-level “marking-off,” which leads to “harm that can befall those who are excluded from the protections of community membership, including abrogation of rights, denial of economic opportunities and physical exclusion through institutionalization.” Once so marked, those who fall outside the “scope of justice” come to be seen as less “beneficial” to society, less “similar” to a newly constituted “us,” and less deserving of fair treatment (1995, 149, 62, 347). Political theorist Michael Waltzer argues that the creation of an ethnic identity and subsequent denial of community membership to that group signifies the first step in a “long train of abuses” (1983, 62). In addition , Opotow finds that severe social conflict accelerates the shrinkage of the scope of justice. Once a conflict erupts, “a social psychological process occurs over time that tears apart the relationship, gradually widening the psychological distance between people enough to sever their connec- Moral Exclusion in a“Nation of Immigrants” ❙ 59 tion and the perception that they belong in the same moral community” (1995, 359). The United States has a long and celebrated history of successfully integrating various immigrant groups. But the country has an equally long history of exclusions, denying full membership to various groups, a paradox , or tradition, that is currently at play. Muslim Americans are the most recent recipients of a long American tradition of publicly supported and institutionally sanctioned moral exclusion, enacted through legalized and institutionalized discrimination and followed by a massive unleashing of social prejudice, media stereotypes, and public hysteria. In this chapter we examine two interrelated dynamics of moral exclusion built into U.S. history. First we discuss how particular ethnic groups have been historically and systematically produced as perceived threats to the nation and politically “racialized” with serious, often deadly, human rights violations. Second, as these groups are targeted, we argue, they are homogenized; that is, they are constructed ideologically as if they were monolithic identifiable groups, through a forced ethnogenesis, or creating one people out of many. Currently, those labeled as Muslim Americans emerge from uncommon (sometimes contentious) backgrounds spanning from North Africa through the Middle East to South Asia. It is essential to understand this historical pattern of ethnogenesis if we are to recognize the current treatment of Muslims in America. A Nation Built on a Foundation of Exclusions The tone was set early with the Naturalization Act of 1790. To ensure the “purity” (read: whiteness) of the nation, exclusion became the norm. In the most sweeping act of legislative ethnogenesis, persons of Asian, African, and Native American descent were created as the Other. That any Alien being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen thereof on application to any common law Court of record in any one of the States wherein he shall have resided for the term of one year at least, and making proof to 60 ❙ Moral Exclusion in a“Nation of Immigrants” the satisfaction of such Court that he is a person of good character. (Naturalization Act of 1790) This act barred from naturalization all but free white persons (i.e., men) and excluded indentured servants and most women from becoming citizens . To be sure that those chosen to be “others” could not slip through the cracks, the act also limited citizenship to an arbitrary category of persons of good moral character. The Naturalization Act was not completely repealed until the Walter-McCarren Act of 1952. But even before the Naturalization Act, Native Americans were the first to receive such treatment in the United States. In this case, their exclusion led to genocide and/or expulsion and the making of America as we know it. Beginning long before the U.S. Constitution was written, with the first organized cleansing of the then powerful Pequot tribe in 1637 by the combined New England colonial forces, Native Americans were almost annihilated by official and unofficial actions, legislation, and court decisions . In campaigns of colonization, oppression, and empire building, God was typically invoked as being on the “right” side. The assault on Native Americans was no exception. When 60 to 80 percent of New England’s Native American population succumbed...

Share