A Muslim name triggers suspicion even for those who no longer identify as Muslim

Evidence

What resonated with Bilal was the differential treatment he had in airports compared to his non-Muslim traveling companions. His traveling companions were able to use the self-check-in kiosks, while Bilal was unable to do so. Passengers who are allowed to enjoy the full privileges of citizenship may still experience the inconvenience of long lines at security checkpoints where they have to take their shoes off and pull out their laptops, but they are not isolated from the rest of the passengers on a regular basis and interrogated by TSA agents. Bilal’s Muslim name triggers suspicion even though he no longer identifies as a Muslim, revealing how this interaction is best described as racial as opposed to religious discrimination. Bilal is not discriminated against because of his beliefs, but rather his body is essentialized as a threat because his Muslim name categorizes him as a potential terrorist. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 181

Categorization

• DEFINE: This is the core mechanism of racialization: discrimination attaches to an essentialized body, not to actual religious belief — the precise religion-vs-race distinction the reader is hunting for.
• XREF: Directly evidences the religion-less-as-race claim; connects to Beydoun’s ‘Muslim Ban’ framing of Muslims as a racialized category and to COINTELPRO-era targeting.