LAUSR

events held by Afghans relied on a neoliberal framework of humanitarian aid that was devoid of a critique of how a U.S.-led war in the region was responsible for the destruction in Afghanistan. After 9/11, Muslim charitable organizations were under attack by the government for their loose connections to terrorists, producing a chilling and silencing effect on the type of international charitable work Muslim organizations could participate in without being unfairly labelled as supporting terrorism. This complex narrative reveals how the U.S. government prevents Muslim Americans from providing aid to their country of origin unless it fits within a neoliberal and Western vision of how the country should be rebuilt. One of the major contributions of this book is the breadth of the analysis. Sunaina Maira’s knowledge of the research that has thus far been conducted on 9/11 and Muslims is impressive and comprehensive. But there were some questions I had about Muslim youth. For example, what were some of the ways gender plays a role in how Muslim youth participate in activism? Because men tend to be the targets of state surveillance more so than women, how did this influence the types of activism men and women took part in. But this is a small critique for a book that is a major contribution to studies on Muslim youth, surveillance and activism.