Anti-Muslim Racism
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In his text, Junaid Rana argues the connection that race and religion have by exploring the ways in which “Muslim” was used as a racial category in the U.S. Indeed, the Muslim label extends beyond a religious identity, “Islam and religion are an important aspect of the genealogy of the race concept.” (Rana, 31). Rana argues that being “Muslim” includes many people, from all over, differing in culture, race, and religion. The Muslim identity is much more than a religious marker but has now become its own category of racial identity. Indeed, one can be perceived as “Muslim” based on physical indicators; the way someone dresses (the hijab on Muslim women), their facial hair (beard on men), their skin colour, their language, the country they come from and so on. This comes back to the idea of “othering” a group of people and putting them all under the same umbrella, because they do not fit the Western standard. Any person who might fit into a certain physical criteria could be perceived as being Muslim, leading to very broad generalizations that overlook the diversity of people who might be all lumped together. These generalizations can lead to awful situations like the ones described in Hussain’s review of “Terrifying Muslims: Race and Labor in the South Asian Diaspora”. Thus, we can see how viewing Islam through a racial lens gives rise to stereotyping, discrimination and violence.