Anti-Palestinian racism historically produced Islamophobia in the United States

Evidence

As Moustafa Bayoumi writes, “It is often assumed that Islamophobia is the driving force behind US anti-Palestinian bigotry. In fact, it’s the other way around.” He explains that Zionist-produced anti-Palestinian racism fueled anti-Arab racism, which later morphed into the Islamophobia of today. … But, as Bayoumi asserts, it is easier to address Islamophobia than anti-Palestinian racism because, “by thinking of Islamophobia primarily as a problem of religious acceptance, we shift the focus to religious tolerance, rather than reckoning with what the US might owe Palestine” as the primary enabler of Israel’s atrocities. — Evelyn Alsultany, Antisemitism and Islamophobia The…, 21

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader literature on how racialization operates through political solidarity rather than only religious identity, echoing theories of orientalism and Islamophobia scholarship. — connects to: Post-war Middle East events made violence central to US Muslim depictions — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 521; Islamophobia and racial prejudice are entangled in distinct ways across Western contexts — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 64; American Islamophobia borrowed British stereotypes because Americans had little contact with Muslims (+22 more)
• QUESTION: Worth tracing the historical chain Bayoumi posits: how did anti-Palestinian racism of the early-mid 20th century morph into religious Islamophobia? What are the key historical inflection points?

Broader Connections

• The US mainstream defaults to Islamophobia as the frame for violence against Palestinians #expands (0.75) — Evelyn Alsultany, Antisemitism and Islamophobia The…, 17
• State-perpetuated fear racializes Muslim bodies as terrorist enemies #expands (0.60)
• Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice #corroborates (0.55)