Anti-Muslim oppression constitutes structural racism, not mere religious intolerance

Evidence

First, I argue that Islamophobia is best understood as racism rather than religious intolerance. When Muslims and those who “look Muslim” in the United States as well as around the world are subject to systematic modes of oppression from surveillance, to detention, torture, and the denial of basic human rights, including the right to life, what is at work is not religious misunderstanding or intolerance but structural racism. These are racial regimes similar to others in US history from the time of settler colonialism on. For instance, the Iraq war of 1990, the genocidal sanctions regime, and the 2003 war and occupation are analogous to how Native Americans were treated. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 91

Categorization

• DEFINE: Reframes Islamophobia as racism — a structural racial regime — rather than religious prejudice, a central definitional move of the book.
• XREF: Connects to the Iraq sanctions and Native American treatment as parallel racial regimes; echoes the comparison frameworks used elsewhere in critical race scholarship. — connects to: Anti-Muslim racism operates as a logic of white supremacy, not mere prejudice — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 1054; Anti-Muslim racism targets Muslims as a people, not their religion; Anti-Muslim racism is structurally rooted in empire, not individual prejudice — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 78 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia is structural racism rooted in empire, not religious intolerance #corroborates (1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 91
• Anti-Muslim racism operates as a logic of white supremacy, not mere prejudice #corroborates (0.95) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 1054
• Anti-Muslim racism is structurally rooted in empire, not individual prejudice #corroborates (0.92) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 78
• Anti-Muslim racism targets Muslims as a people, not their religion #expands (0.90)
• Separating Islamophobia as ideology from racism undermines anti-racist struggle #corroborates (0.90) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 159
• Anti-Muslim racism operates through a distinct racial logic #corroborates (0.85) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 77
• Structural utility, not ignorance, sustains Muslim racialization. #corroborates (0.85)
• Liberal defenses of Muslims framed Islamophobia as intolerance, not empire-linked racism #complicates (0.82)