Islamophobia and racism are two closely related evils. Both are centered around socially-constructed identities. Both involve labeling someone or some group as being different from a main group. Both may involve, to some degree, the use of physical appearance as an identifying factor. It is logical, therefore, that when Muslims have discussions about the sources, implications, and strategies to combat Islamophobia, they acknowledge the relationship between Islamophobia and racism. To be clear: Every incident of racism does not intersect with Islamophobia, but every incident of Islamophobia has somewhere in its roots, racism. This is because the disdain for Muslims has served to associate certain racial features with Muslims.
Racism shows up at different levels of society and in many different forms. It is based on the concept of race, which was invented by humans. Centuries ago, pseudo-scientists tried to assign men into races based on their physical features. This notion has been disproved by modern science, but its evil remnants still exist in the form of racism. It is a concept that will not easily die out in our society.
Racism occurs when one group of people (a group with power) assigns a lower social status to another group purely on the basis of physical appearance. The more powerful group then uses that assignment as a justification for discrimination, prejudice, exclusion, violence, and hatred toward the less powerful group.
Islamophobia, at its most basic level, is discrimination against the Islamic faith and its adherents. Like racism, it can result in prejudice, exclusion, discrimination, and acts of violence. While Islamophobia and racism can occur as two separate phenomena, we can view Islamophobia as a subcategory of racism.
Islamophobia converges with racism because it can be based on physical appearance. According to the activist group, the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), "Islamophobia is a form of racism in the sense that it results from the social construction of a group as a race and to which specificities and stereotypes are attributed."
There are situations where Muslims have been targeted because of their perceived race or ethnicity. The more than two billion Muslims in the world do not share any common physical traits, but our society has succeeded in creating a composite image of “The Muslim” in the minds of non-Muslims. The idea that Muslims have been morphed into one race is echoed by researcher Erik Love. He states, "There are a set of physical traits that can mark someone as “Muslim” regardless of their actual religion, ethnicity, or nationality. Race is the only way to explain how this is so.” (Love, p. 2)
The Historical Context
Iblis (Shaytan) was the first racist. When he was ordered by Allah to bow down to the newly created being, Adam, he declared:
“I am better than he is. You created me from fire and him from clay.”
(Surah Sad, verse 76)
His excuse for being arrogant and disobedient was his sense of entitlement as a member of the jinn race. The jinn were created from smokeless fire and Adam from sticky, black clay. Iblis reasoned that fire was superior. Allah corrected Iblis’s faulty reasoning by saying:
“I know that which you do not know.”
(Surah Baqarah, verse 30)
Islam teaches us that the only characteristic that can elevate one person over another is righteousness. Some of the other world religions endorse hierarchical social structures that create unequal classes of people. Islam does not and, therefore, is antithetical to any belief system that doesn’t give people of all races the ability to be their best and highest selves or that limits personal achievement based on race. Societies that were built on imperialism and oppression of other groups would naturally demonize a religion (and its people) that champion liberty and makes the freeing of enslaved people a virtue.
How Racism and Islamophobia Intersect
Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw who wrote that the “current civil rights and anti-discrimination laws are insufficient to address the experiences of those who experience multiple forms of discrimination” (Crenshaw, 1989). Although the term has been closely associated with feminism, it is actually a broad term describing how a person may experience discrimination that focuses on more than one aspect of one’s identity. A person may simultaneously be the target of oppression because of race, gender, religion, social status, and other identifiers.
Islamophobia intersects with racism on many levels, yet these ills may exist independently. There are situations that are clearly examples of racism: Justifying the enslavement of Black people is racism. Segregating public institutions and facilities is racism. Excluding Black and Brown people from neighborhoods by refusing to give them mortgages is racism. Confining Native Americans to reservations is racism. Conducting medical experimentation on Black people is racism.
On the other hand, placing quotas on the number of immigrants that come from Muslim countries is Islamophobia. Municipalities refusing to issue building permits for mosques is Islamophobia. Banning hijabs and burkinis (the modest swimming attire of many Muslim women) is Islamophobia.
But are the attacks on members of the Bahai and Sikh faiths – because they resemble Asian Muslims in appearance – Islamophobia or racism? And what if the proposed masjid that was refused a building permit was being constructed in a township that was primarily White and its membership was Black? Would that be racism or Islamophobia?
Between Islamophobia and racism, there is an intersection and overlap. At the root of both evils is the idea of white supremacy and the need to create and demonize an “other.” The result is interactions of oppression that reflect the hatred and fear of Islam, Blackness, the “other,” or some combination of all three.
Consider the following fictional scenarios:
- Kareem is a second-generation Muslim. His parents converted to Islam in the 70s. He is very proud of his identity as a Black man who has made significant achievements in his career. He is now interviewing for a job in the Midwest. The hiring team loved his impressive resume and his dynamic phone interview. They seemed disturbed, however, when he showed up at the in-person interview. Commenting on his full beard, one manager mentions that their upper management usually maintains a “certain standard regarding professional appearance.” Someone else remarked that she had a friend named Kareem, and “he needs to take every Friday off.” Another boldly asked Kareem if he was “affiliated with any militant political groups?”
Kareem knew that this line of questioning was not legal, but he did not know how to respond in the moment. He wanted the job, but would he ever be accepted into the company culture? Would the hiring team's sentiments hinder his ability to move up in the company? And were the potential employers more disturbed by the fact that he was Black or Muslim? Is it possible to tell?
- Rosa accepted Islam in Florida. As a Latina woman whose ancestry is Columbian, she has been asked more than once by her White friends, ”Why are you acting like a Black girl? Once, when she wore a turban to her job, the employer told her not to come in again “looking black.” A few times, her Latino, non-Muslim family joked about her “Black religion.” Rosa is confused. Can it be racism when it occurs between family or friends?
- Imani attends a public high school. There are only 30 black students in a school population of 700, and she is the only Muslim. Lately, there have been racial tensions in the school centered around the history curriculum. Imani led a student protest about the school’s refusal to teach stories of black resistance. Twice last year, girls cornered Imani in the bathroom, hit her, and snatched off her hijab. Imani’s classmates have begun to call her “Taliban Girl.” Her parents have been advised to file a complaint, but they are unsure of whether she is being targeted because of her race or religion. Could it be both? Does it matter?
Although these stories are fictional, they are all based on true events. We have been conditioned to only think of racism as Black or White. That mindset, however, belies the far-reaching reality of racism. Racism occurs whenever one group oppresses another on the basis of the latter group’s physical description or identification with a race or ethnicity. It can overlap with other forms of discrimination and prejudice, like Islamophobia. It can involve other races.
How Should We Respond?
If we understand that embedded in the intersection of Islamophobia and racism is white supremacy, we can then work to dismantle the root of both systems. It really is not necessary for the person who has been the recipient of either ill to determine the motives behind the attack. What is necessary is that we identify effective civil rights strategies to combat the new racism of the modern age.
Sources
Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics by Kimberle Crenshaw. University of Chicago Legal Forum. Volume 1989. Issue 1. Article 8. (1989)
Islamophobia and Racism in America by Eric Love. American Journal of Sociology, Volume 124, Number 2. pp. 569-571. (September 2018)
(n.a., n.d.) What is Islamophobia? How Can it Be a Form of Racism as Islam is Not a Race? European Network Against Racism. Retrieved from Frequently asked questions - European Network Against Racism 3.1.2023.
Candice “Sister Islaah” Abd’al-Rahim reverted to Islam in 1976, and considers herself a student of knowledge. She has deep education credentials which include an M.A. in Teaching, a a Certificate of Advanced Studies (Post-Masters) in Administration and Supervision, a B.S. in English, and experiences as a principal (in fact the first hijab public school principal in Maryland!), curriculum and staff developer, mentor, and classroom teacher of grades pre-K through 12. She is a former adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Graduate School of Education and is a doctoral candidate in Islamic Sciences at the International Online University. Islaah’s contributions to the field have earned her honors in the Who’s Who of Distinguished JHU Alumni. She is a wife, daughter, mother, and grandmother and is an active member of several Muslim communities in the Baltimore area
Add new comment