Racialized religion explains why religious-freedom advocates justify targeting Muslims.

Evidence

As such, race played a crucial role in determining which religions were afforded social and legal protections from discrimination. A closer look at the racialization of religion in American history illuminates why Muslims, a religious minority, face systemic discrimination in the post-9/11 era, notwithstanding the privileging of religious liberty. Racialization also explains why some Americans who identify themselves as Christians committed to religious freedom do not believe it is un-American for the government to target Muslims in surveillance and antiterrorism enforcement, much less for the public to suspect all Muslims of disloyalty. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 197

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Polygamy jurisprudence racialized Islam by treating the practice as foreign and treasonable; Crusade rhetoric racialized Muslims as a vile and accursed race. — Nasar Meer, Racialization and Religion: Race,…, 12; Mainstream defenses of religious freedom masked the racism and imperial logic behind Islamophobia — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 657 (+2 more)