Paper Topic

Title

Islam in Color: The Processes of Creating a Muslim Race

Bibliography

1.  Naber, Nadine

2000  Ambiguous Insiders: an investigation of Arab American invisibility.  Ethnic and Racial Studies 23(1):37-61.

2.  Jackson, Sherman A.

2009  Black Orientalism: Its Genesis, Aims, and Significance for American Islam. In Black Routes to Islam. Manning Marable and Hishaam D. Aidi, eds. Pp.  33-47. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

3.  Smith, Jonathan Z.

2009  Map is Not Territory. In Readings in the Theory of Religion: Map, Text, Body. Scott S. Elliot and Matt Waggoner, eds. Pp.  107-123. London: Equinox Publishing Ltd.

4.  Al-Saji, Alia

2010  The racialization of Muslim veils: A philosophical analysis. Philosophy and Social Criticism 36:875-901. 

5.  Razack, Sherene H.

2008  Casting Out: The Eviction of Muslims from Western Law and Politics. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Elevator Pitch

This research will explore the ongoing process of racializing Islam in the West.  Finding its roots in imperialist Orientalism, the process of othering has expanded to incorporate African American conversion to Islam, and has broadened the conversation about American authenticity, religious authenticity, and violence in the post-9/11 world.  It is my goal to show that Islam and skin color have become co-equal markers of otherness in the American racial structure.  The result of this is institutionalized exclusion, dehumanization, and perpetual foreignness that has profoundly changed the way the U.S. approaches race and religion, socially and politically.

Theory

The primary theoretical position I will take for this research is Critical Orientalism from the work of Edward Said.  This perspective will provide a historical anchor for the othering of people from the Middle East and South Asia.  As an extension of this theory I plan to use J.Z. Smith's Map is not Territory which can be very simply described as a combination of Said and Victor Turner's Liminality.  This theoretical subtext will bring into focus the tensions that exist between African American Islam, immigrant Islam, and power structures that dictate racial lines and authenticity.  Additionally, Smith's theory will assist in showing that Islam in the United States and elsewhere has been characterized as a "religion out of place."  This opens the door for its reconfiguration as a racial identity in the social as well as biological sense, particularly in light of the "War on Terror."  Liminality plays the role of highlighting divisions in national and religious authenticity among African American and immigrant Muslims.  The synthesis of these theoretical positions will help to show an ongoing and historically grounded process of transitioning Islam from a religion to a race.