Muslim identity functions as a civic marker rather than mere religious belief.

Evidence

One way I have dealt with Islamophobia is to affirm that I am in fact a Muslim. However I self-identify, and whatever my religious or other beliefs, that can’t override the nature and extent of Islamophobia in modern Britain (and beyond). I’ve also become more conscious about not wanting to be defensive, ashamed or in denial of my background: of course I’ve got a Muslim background, and just as being a Catholic or a Jew in the UK isn’t only or even mainly a question of religious belief or practice, Muslims too shouldn’t be asked or required to deny their ‘Muslimness’. — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 469

Categorization

• XREF: The Catholic/Jew comparison reframes ‘Muslimness’ as an ascribed social identity — precisely the anti-Muslim-racism definitional move, positioning this account against Bleich’s attitude-based concept. — connects to: Muslim group identity is socially constructed, not defined by any shared essence. — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 591; Muslim identity cannot be reduced to religion alone — Fred Halliday, ‘Islamophobia’ Reconsidered, 43; Muslim religious identity becomes a racial category through surveillance. (+9 more)

Related

• Muslim identity cannot be reduced to religion alone (similarity 0.89)
• Muslim identity is real but never the sole or primary form of social self-understanding. (similarity 0.86)
• Religious identity grew more salient than ethnicity among later-generation British Muslims (similarity 0.84)
• Muslim group identity is socially constructed, not defined by any shared essence. (similarity 0.83)
• Muslims suffer hostility for perceived identity beyond any voluntary religious choice. (similarity 0.83)
• Suspicion of Britain’s Muslims predates modern biological racism (similarity 0.81)
• Muslim self-identification and British misperception drove border conflicts (similarity 0.81)
• Islam in America operates as a political identity of otherness beyond religion (similarity 0.81)
• British Muslims were ethnicized before being recognized as a faith group (similarity 0.81)
• Anti-Muslim bias is denied legitimacy by framing Muslimness as voluntarily chosen. (similarity 0.80)
• Multicultural group-boxing erodes individual citizenship, especially for Muslims (similarity 0.80)
• Religion is one factor among many, not the defining one, in Muslim-majority societies (similarity 0.80)
• Visible Muslim identity increases vulnerability to hate crime victimization. (similarity 0.80)
• Muslim citizenship in America is negated by religious identity after crises (similarity 0.80)
• Islamophobia centers on recognition of Muslim-ness and its ideological meaning (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Muslim identity cannot be reduced to religion alone #corroborates (0.88) — Fred Halliday, ‘Islamophobia’ Reconsidered, 43
• Muslim religious identity becomes a racial category through surveillance. #expands (0.80)
• Muslim citizenship in America is negated by religious identity after crises #exemplifies (0.78) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 340
• Muslim identity overrides American citizenship status at the border. #exemplifies (0.75) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 306
• Religious identity grew more salient than ethnicity among later-generation British Muslims #corroborates (0.74) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 182
• Muslim identity is real but never the sole or primary form of social self-understanding. #qualifies (0.72) — Fred Halliday, ‘Islamophobia’ Reconsidered, 36
• Terrorist designations function as tools to criminalize Muslim civic participation. #exemplifies (0.72) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 665
• Suspicion of Muslims is based on association rather than evidence #complicates (0.71)
• Islamophobia originates in ambiguous citizenship models, not in fear of Islam itself. #expands (0.70)