European multiculturalism backlash revitalized anti-Muslim racism as cultural racism

Evidence

In Europe, this discussion has played out under the rubric of the “crisis of multiculturalism.” As media and cultural studies scholars Alana Lentin and Gavan Titley lay out, anti-Muslim racism has been revitalized through the rejection of multiculturalism, which is seen as enabling anti-modern practices. Multiculturalism, which promotes respect for cultural and religious practices, has created a situation, various conservatives and liberals have argued, where medieval norms are subverting European modernity. To counter this, the public has been won to banning veils and other symbols of Islam from public life. Muslims are accused of being anti-modern if they fail to take off their veils or if they take offense at hate speech (which is defended as free speech). The demands on Muslim immigrants to integrate bolsters a form of cultural racism that casts Europe as liberal and modern in opposition to Islam, which is seen as premodern. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 313

Categorization

• XREF: Structural parallel with reader’s own published piece on moral panics over immodest dress — veiling bans as present-day repetition of the garment-panic pattern. — connects to: European veil bans rest on cultural racism casting Islam as premodern — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 313; Perceived Muslim rejection of secularism eroded European faith in multiculturalism — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 359; Anti-Muslim racism has shifted from bodies to culture while keeping an essentialist logic — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 156 (+7 more)
• SEED: Essay angle: how ‘free speech’ defense of hate speech and the veil ban are twin moves of the same cultural-racist logic framing Muslims as premodern.

Broader Connections

• Anti-Muslim racism has shifted from bodies to culture while keeping an essentialist logic #expands (0.88) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 156
• European racism has largely shifted from scientific to cultural grounds of legitimacy #expands (0.85) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3180
• Islamophobia functions as cultural racism tied to perceived non-whiteness #corroborates (0.80)
• Perceived Muslim rejection of secularism eroded European faith in multiculturalism #qualifies (0.78) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 359
• Cultural racism explains Muslim violence through religion rather than lived circumstances #expands (0.78) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 621
• Anti-multiculturalism arguments frame European identity as white and Christian #exemplifies (0.75) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 576
• Both conservative and liberal approaches to Islamism rest on cultural racism #expands (0.75)
• Contemporary European racism is a forward-looking product of cultural change, not a relic #corroborates (0.72)