Fear of hate crime pushes victims to erase their visible religious identity.

Evidence

The constant threat of Islamophobic hate had forced participants to adopt a siege mentality and keep a low profile in order to reduce the potential for future attacks. Many participants reported taking steps to become less ‘visible’, for example by taking the headscarf off for women, and shaving their beards for men (Rowe, 2004; Smith, et al, 2012). — Irene Zempi and Imran Awan, Islamophobia, 350

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the Complaints About Immodesty material — dress as a marker that hostile scrutiny forces people to shed, but here the shedding is coerced by fear rather than moral panic.
• ADDENDUM: Directly extends ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’: hijab-removal and beard-shaving as the contemporary inverse — the majority pressuring a minority to conform to its dress norms.