Islamophobia is structural racism rooted in empire, not religious intolerance

Evidence

To summarize, this book is about anti-Muslim racism as an ideology and set of practices rooted within empire. 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

• XREF: Directly corroborates the Aziz/Razack/Rana cluster claims that post-9/11 Islamophobia functions as racialized empire policy; this is the book’s explicit thesis restated. — connects to: Diversity rhetoric leaves empire-directed structural anti-Muslim racism untouched — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 44; Liberal Islamophobia includes Muslims only on imperial terms — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 89; Anti-Muslim oppression constitutes structural racism, not mere religious intolerance — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 91 (+26 more)

Broader Connections

• Anti-Muslim racism is structurally rooted in empire, not individual prejudice #corroborates (0.96) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 78
• Islamophobia operates as a racial formation, not merely religious prejudice #corroborates (0.90) — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 46
• Islamophobia spans the political spectrum and is embedded in empire’s infrastructure #corroborates (0.90)
• Islamophobia is defined as anti-Muslim racism, not merely fear or dislike #corroborates (0.90) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 48
• Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice #corroborates (0.88)
• Liberal defenses of Muslims framed Islamophobia as intolerance, not empire-linked racism #corroborates (0.85)
• Empire produces anti-Muslim racism which in turn sustains empire #expands (0.85)
• Islamophobia is best understood as an ideology akin to racism #corroborates (0.82) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 910
• Islamophobia is systemic and institutionalized, not merely individual prejudice #expands (0.82) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 641
• Racism has empirical grounding that Islamophobia still lacks #contradicts (0.80) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 789
• Islamophobia operates as cultural racism rooted in religion, culture, and ethnicity rather than biology. #qualifies (0.75) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 92