Islamophobia operates as cultural racism rooted in religion, culture, and ethnicity rather than biology.

Evidence

If there is an explanatory factor that rivals religion in the debate over what drives Islamophobia, it is racism. Islamophobia is not racially blind, nor is it simply a manifestation of older forms of racism rooted in biological inferiority. It is an example of what some scholars have labeled “cultural racism.”cultural racism: hatred and hostility of others based on religious beliefs, cultural traditions, and ethnicity. This form of racism incites hatred and hostility based on religious beliefs, cultural traditions, and ethnic backgrounds. Animosity toward Muslims is expressed in terms of cultural and religious inferiority, with Muslims and Islam labeled as barbaric, violent, uncivilized, and inferior to Western culture and civilization. The presumed insurmountable differences between “Muslim culture” and the West serve as the basis for exclusion and discrimination. The argument of cultural inferiority has gained significant traction in recent decades, in part because many politicians, journalists, and public figures do not see it as racist; they assume that racism must involve overt appeals to skin color or biological inferiority. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 92

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clear working definition of cultural racism as applied to Islamophobia.
• SEED: Angle: how ‘not seeing it as racist’ lets public figures launder cultural-inferiority rhetoric.
• XREF: connects to: Islamophobia and racial prejudice are entangled in distinct ways across Western contexts — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 64; Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice; Cultural racism targets Muslims’ beliefs and traditions as if they were inherited essence. (+21 more)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice #corroborates (0.80)
• Cultural racism targets Muslims’ beliefs and traditions as if they were inherited essence. #expands (0.80)
• Structural Islamophobia and structural racism share embedded institutional stereotypes #corroborates (0.70) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 130
• Islamophobia is systemic and institutionalized, not merely individual prejudice #expands (0.50) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 641