U.S. lawmakers framed devout Muslim practice as treasonous grounds for military exclusion

Evidence

The drive to outlaw sharia was supported widely by many lawmakers. In 2011, Republican Tennessee state legislator Rick Wormick opined that any Muslim who is devout and follows the Qur’an and Sunnah is at war with the United States and required to kill non-Muslims. Therefore, they should be categorically barred from serving in the military. In 2016, the Tennessee Republican Party invited controversial anti-Islam activist Geert Wilders to the Republican National Convention. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 285

Categorization

• DEFINE: Illustrates the operative move of racializing Islam: treating mere religious devotion (following Qur’an and Sunnah) as an inherently hostile identity rather than a protected belief.
• XREF: connects to: Religious objections to Muslim politicians in Congress rhetorically reframed as immigration and values threats — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 813; When believers cannot be visually identified, lawmakers criminalize the religion wholesale.; U.S. anti-Muslim rhetoric framed Muslim identity as a permanent stain disqualifying one from office — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 1362 (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• Religious objections to Muslim politicians in Congress rhetorically reframed as immigration and values threats #expands (0.85) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 813
• Religiosity plus foreign-policy dissent makes Muslims prime targets for state repression #expands (0.85) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 81
• U.S. anti-Muslim rhetoric framed Muslim identity as a permanent stain disqualifying one from office #expands (0.80) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 1362
• Apostasy is treason because Islam is a polity, not only a faith #expands (0.80) — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1490
• US statecraft has long disciplined Muslim American political dissent #expands (0.80) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 424
• Anti-Catholic conspiracy claims about takeover plots recur verbatim against American Muslims today #expands (0.80) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 310
• When believers cannot be visually identified, lawmakers criminalize the religion wholesale. #expands (0.75)
• Repression and inclusion of Muslims occur simultaneously in America #qualifies (0.75)
• Visible Muslim religious practice invites state suspicion and hate-motivated backlash #expands (0.75) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 540
• Native-informant Muslim figures preemptively delegitimize Muslim criticism of US policy #expands (0.75)
• National security law became a pretext to silence dissident religious Muslims #expands (0.70) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 910