Imagining Solidarity and Co-Resistance: The 9/11 Generation's Understanding of the War on Terror and American War Resisters of the 2003-2011 US-Iraq War


Malak El-Outa, Carleton University

This research examines how the 9/11 generation in Canada, a cohort comprising of Muslim and/or Arab individuals who came of age during the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks (e.g., the War on Terror, heightened Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism) interpret the testimonies of American war resisters from the 2003-2011 US-Iraq War. Specifically, through qualitative semi-structured interviews with members of the 9/11 generation, this study explores how this generation imagines solidarity and co-resistance with American war resisters, that is former soldiers who participated in the Iraq war and developed a resistance against it, an understanding based on this generation’s own experiences of the enduring post-9/11 era. In doing so, this study raises pivotal questions about lived experiences, refusal, forgiveness, and the potential for solidarity and allyship between these two distinct communities. Specifically, this research provides valuable insights into how a generation profoundly influenced by the everlasting post-9/11 landscape imagines solidarity and co-resistance with individuals who at one point perpetuated the challenges and racism faced by the 9/11 generation, but now find themselves advocating against the same oppressive forces. Moreover, this study holds broader implications, particularly in the context of the ongoing atrocities in Palestine. Specifically, it underscores the urgent need to refocus discussions on the enduring impacts of post-9/11’s heightened Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, evident in the current public portrayal of Palestinians, and the escalating acts of discrimination and violence against the Muslim and Arab community. Through re-centering these discussions, this research contributes important insights on how these acts of racism persist, how Muslim and/or Arab individuals challenge these facets, and the ways in various actors within our society, such as potential allies like American war resisters, can actively address and support those victimized by such acts. Lastly, this research’s exploration of how the 9/11 generation envisions movements of solidarity and co-resistance with American war resisters is more crucial than ever. This importance presents itself through the widespread acts of support occurring globally for the Palestinian cause, and by extension the Muslim and/or Arab community who once again are subjected to heightened Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism reminiscent of the immediate post-9/11 era.

This paper will be presented at the following session: