The 1924 Asiatic Barred Zone placed nearly all Muslims outside admissible whiteness

Evidence

In the Immigration Act of 1917 (known as the Asiatic barred zone act), which prevented immigration from the Asian Pacific region, Syrians were exempted. This “exclusion of Syrians from the Asiatic barred zone helped consolidate [their whiteness]. Thus the legal construction of Syrian whiteness became part of a larger story of their disassociation from Asia and of the creation of a new category, the “Middle East” (which is, in fact, West Asia).” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 241 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

What this history reveals is that Muslims had difficulties becoming naturalized citizens because Islam was not associated with whiteness (Gualtieri 2009). For some Arabs, such as Syrians, their Christian identity and lighter skin tones afforded them certain key privileges that South Asians—who had darker complexions and were typically either Hindu or Muslim—were unable to access. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 89 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Islamic identity rendered immigrants non-white in citizenship cases regardless of legal test — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 154; The 1924 law’s effects made today’s Muslims targets of White nativism — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 246; Pressure to pass into whiteness acted on all racialized groups (+16 more)

Related

• Legal whiteness construction created the Middle East category by separating Syrians from Asia (similarity 0.88)
• Islam was not associated with whiteness, blocking Muslim naturalization (similarity 0.87)
• Islamic identity rendered immigrants non-white in citizenship cases regardless of legal test (similarity 0.84)
• Arabs gained whiteness-status in 1943 while Muslims generally remained excluded because Islam signified non-whiteness. (similarity 0.83)
• Muslim immigrants preferred strained whiteness arguments over an easier Blackness claim (similarity 0.82)
• Racial classifications shifted religiously, deeming Ottoman subjects Asian not White. (similarity 0.81)
• Religious identity alone distanced Asian Indians from whiteness in naturalization law. (similarity 0.81)
• Early US naturalization law treated Christian Syrians as White. (similarity 0.81)
• Whiteness was defined through exclusion of non-black immigrant groups too. (similarity 0.80)
• Early Levantine immigrants were deemed inassimilable non-Whites due to Muslim affiliation (similarity 0.80)
• Islamic identity exceeded skin color in rendering Arabs non-white for citizenship (similarity 0.80)
• South Asian racial classification has been fluid and contested in the US. (similarity 0.80)
• American Muslims are racially diverse and often identify as white or Asian (similarity 0.80)
• Whiteness by law was defined as Christian, excluding Muslims from citizenship (similarity 0.80)
• The US government reclassified Syrians from Caucasian to Mongoloid within a decade (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Islam was not associated with whiteness, blocking Muslim naturalization #corroborates (0.85) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 89
• Lighter skin and Westernized names let some Muslims pass as white #qualifies (0.85)
• Legal whiteness construction created the Middle East category by separating Syrians from Asia #corroborates (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 241
• Muslims were racialized through cultural signifiers rather than phenotype alone #expands (0.82) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 106
• The global racial system shaped Muslims’ place in the U.S. #expands (0.80) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 98
• Muslims can evade racialization by concealing religious difference #qualifies (0.80)
• The 1924 law’s effects made today’s Muslims targets of White nativism #expands (0.78) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 246
• Arabs gained whiteness-status in 1943 while Muslims generally remained excluded because Islam signified non-whiteness. #expands (0.78) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 123
• Exemption from the Asiatic barred zone consolidated Syrian legal whiteness #corroborates (0.75)
• American imperialism, Orientalism, coercive assimilation, and White supremacy jointly produce racialized Muslim categories #expands (0.75) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 80
• Pre-1970s Muslim-targeted discrimination belonged to older white-supremacy systems #expands (0.75)
• Pressure to pass into whiteness acted on all racialized groups #qualifies (0.72)
• US law racialized entire geographical regions to bar Asian immigrants #expands (0.72) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 291
• Early Levantine immigrants were deemed inassimilable non-Whites due to Muslim affiliation #corroborates (0.72) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 484
• American Muslims are racially diverse and often identify as white or Asian #qualifies (0.72) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 108