Arabs achieved economic success yet still lost whiteness through foreign-policy racialization

Evidence

According to the 2000 census, Arabs living in the United States had a median income similar to the national average and were more likely to have a bachelor’s degree than the overall American population. But even with this success, they have always contended with a racialized identity that has been tied directly to America’s foreign policy. The association of Arabs, and now Muslims, with terrorism, has justified U.S. military intervention in Arab countries. Once able to access some of the privileges of whiteness such as naturalization due to being seen as culturally similar to Western Europeans, the racialization of this group has grown exponentially over the past four decades. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 130

Categorization

• XREF: Core to the religion-vs-race question: shows racialization is driven by foreign policy, not phenotype or class—echoes Omi and Winant’s racial formation theory. — connects to: Muslim identity ejects Arabs from whiteness and strips them of its material benefits — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 662; Muslim Arabs move away from whiteness regardless of actual skin tone; Arabs were classified white for citizenship so they could be distinguished from ineligible Asians (+5 more)
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source

Broader Connections

• Muslim identity ejects Arabs from whiteness and strips them of its material benefits #builds-on (0.60) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 662
• Muslim Arabs move away from whiteness regardless of actual skin tone #epitomizes (0.60)
• Socioeconomic status does not protect Muslims from racialization during war #corroborates (0.60)
• Arabs were classified white for citizenship so they could be distinguished from ineligible Asians #expands (0.50)
• Arabs classified as white lose that status upon wearing the hijab #exemplifies (0.50) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 201
• Arabs were legally classified as white in 1943 to distinguish them from ineligible Asians. #expands (0.50)
• Invisible minority describes Arabs marginalized though classified as white by the census #qualifies (0.40)