Seasons of Fury: Four Families and the Rise of Islamophobia in America

Description: LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD - A sweeping narrative history of the U.S. government's broken compact with its Muslim citizens, culminating in the post-9/11 era of mass surveillance and increased violence--from an award-winning New York Times Magazine journalist.

"A deeply reported tale of hysteria, bigotry, surveillance, and persecution."--Patrick Radden Keefe, #1 New York Times bestselling author of London is Falling

In this closely reported and elegantly written book, Rozina Ali shows how the War on Terror, conceived in the wake of the September 11 attacks, only accelerated long-standing conflicts between American law enforcement and Muslim communities around the country. From the surveillance of Arab activists that began in the 1960s and laws in the 90s that broadened the definition of terrorism, to the mass detention of entire Muslim communities in the 2000s and the rise of think tanks and nonprofits that sowed panic about the threat of Islam itself, Seasons of Fury shows that the history of policies that have warped the American perception of Muslim communities reaches deep into our past.

Through the powerful stories of four families across eight decades, Ali narrates a range of Muslim experiences shaped by relentless suspicion and prejudice. Introducing readers to Abdeen Jabara, Mohammad Ali Chaudry, Shahina and Matin Siraj, and the pseudonymous Omar family, she shows how fears about American Muslims have always been inextricable from the Israel-Palestine conflict, stoking the idea of a religious war between Muslims and the West.

Ultimately, the U.S. government's Islamophobic policies disillusioned generations of Muslims who sought the promise of the American dream only to find their communities torn apart, their relatives imprisoned, and their religion villainized by politicians and media. Ali's story of how we got to our terrifying present is a magisterial accomplishment and a damning indictment of the United States' abandonment of its core principles in the face of fear.

Review Quotes: "Seasons of Fury is a magisterial, infuriating, and absolutely necessary book. With a sense of care and thoroughness developed over years of journalistic expertise in the subject matter, Rozina Ali interrogates one of the most acceptable and least-punished forms of prejudice in America today. Her writing charts the toll this systemic, pervasive bigotry takes on generations of families, how easily it upends entire lives. A vital work, as illuminating as any I've read in many years on how and why hatred becomes normalized."--Omar El Akkad, National Book Award-winning author of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

"This book is an essential and eloquent record of our times, and of one of the most troubling realities of America. Tracing the rise of Islamophobia and its alarming resurgence, this prescient accounting is a must-read."--Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Circle of Hope

"This a deeply reported tale of hysteria, bigotry, surveillance and persecution, one that is suffused with quiet outrage but observed with a clear eye. At the same time, Ali has captured, with great compassion, the resilience, dignity, and patriotism of American Muslims."--Patrick Radden Keefe, #1 New York Times bestselling author of London Falling

"With intimate and beautifully crafted portraiture, Rozina Ali explores the history of Islamophobia in America, and how the war on terror deepened the ugliness at its heart. Nested prejudices and cruelties combine with think tanks that push moral panics about the threat of Islam."--Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries

"Rozina Ali has written a vital and page-turning account of some of our country's darkest recent chapters. This is a book about immigration, race, and persecution, told in stellar reportorial detail. But it's also a mirror that Ali skillfully holds up to force a reckoning about the kind of country we really are. Seasons of Fury should be required reading."--Jonathan Blitzer, bestselling author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here

"Seasons of Fury is an excellent autopsy of America's last few decades and the Islamophobia that has riddled its politics and policies. [Ali's] writing is evocative without becoming ornate, and she makes even the most well-known stories from the era compelling page-turners."--Moira Lavelle, Inkstick

"The sweeping, landmark debut from journalist Ali explores decades of surveillance and harassment faced by Muslims in the U.S. Through . . . intimate perspectives, the author plunges readers into the fear Muslims felt as their neighbors turned against them and exposes the overreach of U.S. counterterrorism policies, from the weaponization of ICE to the influx of undercover informants into Muslim communities[, ] to the establishment of new prison units for holding Muslim men. With its wide scope, this riveting account exposes how the 'war on terror' was always a war at home."--Publishers Weekly, starred review