The Racial Muslim category shifts over time to serve state interests

Evidence

Hence the Racial Muslim has been under social construction for more than a century. Whether he was the barbaric Turk categorized as Asian in naturalization laws, the Black Muslim militant challenging White supremacy, the Arab nationalist suspected of being a Communist, or the Palestinian terrorist prioritized as a security threat, the Racial Muslim serves the state’s and the elites’ political interests. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 1073 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Racialization is rooted in relationships of power that are institutionalized. Racializing bodies serves those who wield power in society and therefore is constantly changing and mutating based on the interests of those in power. This explains why some groups of people are vilified at one point in time over another. For example, the belief that Syrians are potential terrorists and dangerous to Western nations is perpetuated when the government wants to limit Syrian refugees from entering the United States at a time when millions of Syrians have been forced out of their country due to internal wars and political conflicts. However, as I describe in chapter 1, Syrians were once treated like white ethnics in the United States partially because of their skin tone. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 86 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

It is important to remember, for example, that ‘Muslims’ in post-war Britain were configured as ‘coloured’, then ‘black’, then ‘Asian’, then ‘Pakistani’ and ‘Bangladeshi’ before they appeared as ‘Muslims’ (Alexander 1998, 2002) – and while the labels may have changed, the racist content of the category largely did not. — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 163 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The national security state has racialized Muslims into a category vulnerable to premature death. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 52; The terrorist racial category expanded decade by decade to cover new groups; Two international and two domestic factors generate five Racial Muslim types (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• The Racial Muslim stereotype shifts to serve state and elite political interests #corroborates (0.97) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 1073
• Racialization shifts with the political interests of those in power #corroborates (0.93) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 86
• The racialized content of the Muslim category persisted across changing labels #complicates (0.72) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 163