Islamophobia operates as a racial formation, not merely religious prejudice

Evidence

While there have been many definitions of Islamophobia, I agree with Stephen Sheehi that Islamophobia (like all other racisms) is an ideology, a body of everyday knowledge and beliefs, that justifies the regulation of Muslims like it does other races. Racism in the form of Islamophobia and Anti- Blackness includes not just individual discrimination but structural expropriation and exploitation. … I suggest that a definition of Islamophobia that restricts it to a set of specific negative beliefs can miss benevolent Islamophobia like that of the U.S. Institute of Peace as well as the well-meaning patriarchal forms that seek to protect Muslim women. The ideology is far more complex than a simple hatred or belief in the violent nature of Islam or Muslims. … The framework for understanding Islamophobia both structurally and ideologically is in the context of racism in general and not as distinct formation. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 46

Although discrimination experienced by Muslims is often misunderstood as exclusively religious in nature, it is evident that such racialized discrimination is experienced by Muslims and Muslim-like individuals and importantly, includes ethnic, racial, and religious facets (Garner & Selod, 2015; Wilkins-Laflamme, 2018). — Ummul-Kiram Kathawalla, Fei Bi Chan, Quratulain Gulamhussein, Amy Riegelman, and Moin Syed, Conceptualization and Measurement of…, 26

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Islamophobia as ideology/racism and normalizes benevolent Islamophobia into the analytic frame.
• XREF: Extends the reader’s racecraft corpus — Capers’ Reading Back Reading Black and the Fieldses and Robinson — and directly bears on whether Islam’s internal fragmentation (‘no single homeland’) matters once Islamophobia is classed with other racisms. — connects to: Islamophobia has coalesced Muslims into a distinct racial group and Islam into a race. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 61; European colonial racial practice of differentiating Islam preceded and enabled modern Islamophobia; Islamophobia is rarely analyzed through the lens of race and racism. — Nasar Meer, Racialization and Religion: Race,…, 18 (+23 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 46; Ummul-Kiram Kathawalla, Fei Bi Chan, Quratulain Gulamhussein, Amy Riegelman, and Moin Syed, Conceptualization and Measurement of…, 26

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice #corroborates (0.95)
• Islamophobia is best understood as an ideology akin to racism #corroborates (0.90) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 910
• The term Islamophobia understates the racial and political roots of anti-Muslim bias #corroborates (0.90) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 260
• 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 functions as an alibi for contemporary race-making #expands (0.85) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 173
• Islamophobia operates as entrenched American race politics producing anti-Muslim racism #exemplifies (0.85) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 72
• Islamophobia operates as cultural racism rooted in religion, culture, and ethnicity rather than biology. #expands (0.85) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 92
• Islamophobia functions as cultural racism tied to perceived non-whiteness #corroborates (0.85)
• The report’s racial-religious conflation undermines Islamophobia’s distinctiveness as a category #contradicts (0.85) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 384
• Islamophobia and racial prejudice are entangled in distinct ways across Western contexts #expands (0.80) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 64
• Separating Islamophobia as ideology from racism undermines anti-racist struggle #expands (0.80) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 159
• Islamophobia predates its modern name as a racial logic #expands (0.80)
• Islamophobia framing individualizes prejudice and obscures racial hierarchy #complicates (0.75)
• Anti-Muslim racism is the operationalization of the causal factor Islamophobia #qualifies (0.75) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 133
• Racism has empirical grounding that Islamophobia still lacks #complicates (0.70) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 789