Orientalism converted Muslim identity from a religion into a race.

Evidence

Critical race theorists call this process “racialization,” and contend that “races are not biologically differentiated groupings but rather social constructions.” Races, and racial categories, therefore, are fluid and dynamic constructs that are shaped and reshaped in line with political, economic, and cultural interests. In line with this process of racialization, Orientalism (re)made “Muslim” into a race. This conversion of Muslim identity from a religion into a race changed a diverse population represented in every corner of the globe to the narrow form of the Arab, or as stated by Islamophobia scholar Erik Love, anybody “who looks Middle Eastern.” — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 161

Categorization

• XREF: The racialization of ‘Muslim’ connects to Selod’s surveillance of those ‘who look Middle Eastern’ and to critical race theory frameworks. — connects to: Periyar and Phule inverted Aryan racial theory to oppose Brahmins as foreigners. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1069; Europeans first encountered Africans chiefly as Muslim soldiers, fusing racial and religious identity; The term ‘Turk’ replaced ‘Saracen’ and carried ethnic, political, and religious meaning — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 144 (+37 more)
• DEFINE: Defines racialization and its specific application to Muslim identity.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 161

Broader Connections

• Orientalism imagined Muslims as a monolithic Arab or Middle Eastern racial bloc. #corroborates (0.80) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 161
• Orientalism supplied the pre-existing tropes that the War on Terror redeployed against Muslims #expands (0.75)
• Orientalist civilizational essentialism is a pillar of race making #expands (0.70) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1277
• Muslim religious identity becomes a racial category through surveillance. #exemplifies (0.65)
• Arab and South Asian identities have been conflated with Islam #expands (0.65) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 173
• Muslims move down the racial hierarchy rather than becoming a new race #complicates (0.60)
• Religious identity racializes Arab and South Asian Muslims along shared lines #expands (0.60)
• Orientalist scholarship varied internally but shared the racial category #corroborates (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 132
• Muslim identity ejects Arabs from whiteness and strips them of its material benefits #expands (0.55) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 662
• Religious identity replaced ethnicity as the marker making Muslim Americans seen as anti-American #complicates (0.55)