Implicit Islamophobia and racism in modern America

Abstract

This thesis examines implicit Islamophobia in modern American history through one specific case study, “mosque discrimination” cases. In these cases, Muslim communities are prevented from building mosques on land that they already own by local zoning authorities, whether city planning boards or local governments. Although the reasoning for these denials appears neutral on the surface, a closer look reveals the discriminatory anti-Muslim bias at the heart of the decisions. Processes of racialization and Islamophobia are at the heart of these denials, and Muslims are increasingly seen in America as a static racial group rather than a dynamic religious group. This fact has made discrimination against them easier to justify and has served to eliminate much difference amongst Muslim groups. As such, contextualizing modern implicit Islamophobia through an examination of similar implicit racism earlier in the 20th century is another aim of this thesis. Examples discussed include the process of “redlining,” or racial housing segregation, a form of discrimination primarily affecting Black communities that was justified in many of the same ways as mosque discrimination cases, and the anti-Semitism that has historically affected Jewish American communities. Muslim communities have access to several methods of recourse in these cases, but perhaps the most prominent is the filing of lawsuits under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act through the Department of Justice. The combined weight of these lawsuits, of direct grassroots advocacy for Muslim communities, of the calling out of implicit Islamophobia when present, and of the systematic education and raised awareness around these issues, can lend hope to the possibility of a more equitable and just future for all.