Racialization of Muslims in America

Numerous scholars believe islamophobia to include a racial and ethnic component of discrimination, as well as discrimination on the basis of religion. In a study that examines attitudes towards Muslims, Craig Considine, a professor studying islamophobia and Muslims in America, argues “There is a common misperception that all Muslims are the same and all Muslims are Arabs. Considine goes on to maintain “’Muslim identity,’ as far as the American context goes, appears to be weighted with racial meaning." Based on Considine’s findings, when Americans hear the word Muslim, they think of someone of Arab descent, which associates an entire religion with one race, resulting in the racialization of Muslims in America.

Media: https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/strategic-insights/the-muslim-question-2/

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Racism Disguised

Raymond Taras, a Canadian political scientist who focuses on ethnic conflict upholds that acts of islamophobia “become[s] a cryptic articulation of race and racism even if overtly it appears as religiously-based prejudice."  Essentially, Taras argues that the acts of islamophobia areupholds that acts of islamophobia “become[s] a cryptic articulation of race and racism even if overtly it appears as religiously-based prejudice” disguised as hatred toward Islam, but are instead acts of racism. Saher Solad is a sociology professor at Simmons College who focuses on race, ethnicity, and gender. According to Solad, because Muslims have become racialized, or placed in “racial categories [that] are constantly created, occupied, transformed and destroyed within specific political, social and economic contexts,” as Arab in the United States, islamophobia is an act of racism as well (Selod 79).

"Looking" Muslim and other Stereotypes

Saher Selod and Steve Garner, two sociology professors at Simmons University and Aston University respectively, classify islamophobia as a race issue as much as it is a religion issue in their article “The Racialization of Muslims: Empirical Studies of Islamophobia.” Garner and Selod contend islamophobia marginalizes Muslims into a singular group that has the characteristics of “violence, misogyny, political allegiance [or] disloyalty [and] incompatibility with Western values…” Garner and Selod add that these characteristics are believed by islamophobes to be inseparable and primary to the Muslims faith . Therefor when an “islamophobe” sees a person of Arab descent, due to racialization, they automatically assume that person is Muslim. In addition to assuming their religious beliefs, because of their misconceptions concerning Muslims, the islamophobe also automatically assumes the person of Arab descent is violent, sexist, and anti-democratic. These assumptions and largely untrue beliefs about Muslims and those who “look like” Muslims categorize as a cause of islamophobia because it connects a thought with an action: race based discrimination.