Visual misidentification of Sikhs reveals Muslim identity functions as race

Evidence

Non-Muslims are also vulnerable to private Islamophobic animus and violence. Since Muslim identity is racialized as Arab or Middle Eastern, an embedded caricature of Muslims (closely examined in chapter 3) guides how private Islamophobes imagine and identify adherents of the faith. A wide swath of non-Muslim groups and communities, most notably non-Muslims from South Asia, the Arab world, Middle Eastern nations, and Latinx states, and particularly Sikhs, are often profiled as Muslims and victimized by private Islamophobes. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 119 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

The new racialized terrorist sutured all these aforementioned groups together with those who “look Muslim” such as Indian Sikhs and Hindus, Arab and Iranian Christians, and even brown skinned people from Latin American countries. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 539 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Anti-Muslim racism targets those merely perceived as Muslim, including Christians and Sikhs; Unprovable sleeper-cell claims rest on racialized images of irrational religious men; Sikhs are mislabeled as Muslim and targeted by Islamophobia based on visual cues (+18 more)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia’s racialized caricature victimizes non-Muslims, especially Sikhs #exemplifies (0.95) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 119
• The racialized Muslim category swept in non-Muslims who merely look Muslim #exemplifies (0.93) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 539
• Racial identity functions as practice and intention, not just appearance #complicates (0.78)
• Group solidarity, not physique, makes Sikhs and Muslims fearless in danger. #complicates (0.74) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 893
• Studying non-Arab converts reveals how Islam is racialized apart from ethnicity #complicates (0.72) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 843