Colorblind Islam: The Racial Hinges of Immigrant Muslims in the United States

Guhin, Jeffrey

doi:10.17645/si.v6i2.1422

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…They are choosing to congregate in multiethnic Muslim organizations that are largely composed of the children of other “brown” immigrants from the Middle East and South Asia, rather than ethnic‐specific ones like their parents (Schmidt ; Warner, Martel, and Dugan ). Similar to earlier stigmatized minorities, the second‐generation Muslims are defining a new American religion apart from their parents; sometimes embracing mainstream political and cultural practices (Bilici ; Sirin and Fine ) and other times rejecting them (Grewal ; Guhin ; Khabeer ).…”

Section: Discussion: Religious Decline Assimilation and Differentiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways of Religious Assimilation: Second‐Generation Asian Americans’ Religious Retention and Religiosity

Chen

Park

2019

Scientific Study of Religion

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We explore the religious assimilation of different Asian American second‐generation religious groups by examining their rates of religious retention and levels of religiosity relative to the first generation and the general American population. In general, Asian Americans exhibit a pattern of generational religious decline: the second generation tend to have lower levels of both religious retention and religiosity compared to the immigrant generation. The second generation do not necessarily conform to the religious patterns of the general population. Rather, they follow different trajectories of retention and religiosity depending on the religion. We identify four different pathways of religious change among the second generation, and discuss how racial and religious differences mediate assimilation into American religion.

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Section: Discussion: Religious Decline Assimilation and Differentiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways of Religious Assimilation: Second‐Generation Asian Americans’ Religious Retention and Religiosity

Chen

Park

2019

Scientific Study of Religion

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“…Common MENA names and languages and identifying as Muslim also reduce White and Black classification among both groups of respondents. The negative effect of identification as Muslim on Black categorization is particularly notable, given that one in five American Muslims are Black, highlighting the racialization of Islam as not White or Black (48)(49)(50)(51). White and MENA respondents also recognize that medium and dark skin tones mark someone as not White and as Black, though in general White respondents appear to react more strongly to skin color relative to MENA respondents.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Eastern and North African Americans may not be perceived, nor perceive themselves, to be White

Maghbouleh

Schachter

Flores

2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

107

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People of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent are categorized as non-White in many Western countries but counted as White on the US Census. Yet, it is not clear that MENA people see themselves or are seen by others as White. We examine both sides of this ethnoracial boundary in two experiments. First, we examined how non-MENA White and MENA individuals perceive the racial status of MENA traits (external categorization), and then, how MENA individuals identify themselves (self-identification). We found non-MENA Whites and MENAs consider MENA-related traits—including ancestry, names, and religion—to be MENA rather than White. Furthermore, when given the option, most MENA individuals self-identify as MENA or as MENA and White, particularly second-generation individuals and those who identify as Muslim. In addition, MENAs who perceive more anti-MENA discrimination are more likely to embrace a MENA identity, which suggests that perceived racial hostility may be activating a stronger group identity. Our findings provide evidence about the suitability of adding a separate MENA label to the race/ethnicity identification question in the US Census, and suggest MENAs’ official designation as White may not correspond to their lived experiences nor to others’ perceptions. As long as MENA Americans remain aggregated with Whites, potential inequalities they face will remain hidden.

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“…The people Sulaiman is talking about are religious-for them, Islam is religious belief and practice (and also influenced by notions of heritage and political identity), but they emphasize belief and practice. In doing so, they advocate what some have called a "colorblind Islam" that positions itself as race-less and universal but that in doing so actually positions Arab (and sometimes South Asian) Islam as the only authentic Islam (Guhin, 2018;Jackson, 2005). The racialization of Muslims as brown feeds and is fed by color-blind Islam.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of mocktails and Muslims

Husain

2019

Religion Compass

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This article argues that the racialization of Islam and Muslims as brown circumscribes brown Muslims' identity exploration. Ethnographic research here shows how Arab and SouthAsian Muslims manage race and religion in exploring their identities. The key contribution of this research is in drawing attention to under-examined aspects of racialization that this group engages to construct their identities, specifically the black-white U.S. racial binary and secularism.

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Colorblind Islam: The Racial Hinges of Immigrant Muslims in the United States

Cited by 20 publications

References 34 publications

Pathways of Religious Assimilation: Second‐Generation Asian Americans’ Religious Retention and Religiosity

Pathways of Religious Assimilation: Second‐Generation Asian Americans’ Religious Retention and Religiosity

Middle Eastern and North African Americans may not be perceived, nor perceive themselves, to be White

Of mocktails and Muslims

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