Muslim names alone can racialize phenotypically white people

Evidence

Because there are very few countering representations of Muslims as normal, law-­abiding, patriotic American citizens, the dominant narrative of Muslims as terrorists, misogynists, and sexual predators who are antifeminist and anti-­American is definitive. These cultural practices are seen as essentialized, inherent characteristics of Muslim bodies. For many Muslims, these labels are applied when they are identified as Muslim through visual clues like skin tone and clothing or nonvisual clues like having a Muslim name. Religious clothing that has acquired racial meaning racializes bodies in a similar way to skin tone. The hijab signifies foreignness and provokes the assumption that those who wear these symbols are “others” who are not American and not white. The hijab symbolizes a threat to Western feminist ideals and is associated with the forced submission of Muslim women to Muslim men (Razack 2008). But for Muslim men and women who do not wear religious signifiers, their Muslim names also racialize them even if they are phenotypically white. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 91

Categorization

• XREF: Extends the paragraph-88 definition: cultural traits (names) racialize bodies without any skin-tone difference, tying back to the author’s revised framework. — connects to: A white non-Muslim can be forced into the Muslim’s demonological position; Categorical whiteness excludes Arabs and Muslims from the benefits of racial remedy in America; Courts racialized Muslim identity using skin color and the one-drop rule. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 186 (+30 more)

Broader Connections

• Surveillance targets a Muslim name, not religious belief, making it racial discrimination #corroborates (0.80)
• Religious identity can be racialized when signifiers trigger profiling #corroborates (0.75)
• Surveillance justified by religious identity constitutes racialization of Muslims #corroborates (0.70)
• Muslim religious identity becomes a racial category through surveillance. #corroborates (0.65)