The racialisation of Syrians as white
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A dynamic which Asal explores in her piece entitled identifying as Arab is how Syrians in the United States during the 20th century attempted to disassociate themselves from other racialised groups in order to gain wider acceptance and legal recognition as white. Asal writes how "During this time of “yellow race crisis,” the designation of Syrians as non-whites not only hindered their naturalization but affected their integration into American life and was seen as an "aberration" hence why this push to separate Syrians from other racialised people became such a large and organised campaign. This distinction would make it easier for Syrian Americans to have family members come join them in the United States and "assimilate" easier into the American society if they were viewed as white. Asal goes on to state that "After rejecting Dow’s case, the South Carolina court ruled on appeal that Syrians were “white” and had always been, based on scientific evidence that they were real “Caucasians” (Lopez, 1996). The Dow case is considered to be the definitive victory allowing Syrians in the United States to be classified as “white” and thus naturalized according to the same criteria as Europeans." This case is particularly interesting as the court declared it was Syrians proximity to “Caucasians” that allowed Syrians to be declared as white which was built upon the arbitrary construct of race that is rooted in white supremacy.